An erroneous Fox News report about a potential terrorist attack in New Orleans sparked a rash of anti-immigrant comments from right-wing figures in the hours before a U.S. Army veteran was identified as its suspect.
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance were among the Republicans who rushed to link the mass killing—which left 15 dead, including the suspect, and dozens injured on Wednesday—to the southern border.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump posted at 10:48 a.m. to Truth Social. “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
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That post, which was screenshotted and shared by Vance on X, came mere minutes after Fox News incorrectly reported that the truck driven by the suspect had crossed into Texas from Mexico two days prior.
Fox News retracted its reporting by noon, however, after other networks—including the right-wing Newsmax—confirmed the truck involved entered the U.S. from Mexico on Nov. 16 and was driven by a man with no connection to Wednesday’s attack.
Officials said later in the afternoon that it had no evidence tying the attack to the border. The FBI said the terrorist was 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas native who spent eight years in the military. He allegedly gained access to the Ford pickup truck using Turo, an app that works similarly to Airbnb for renting vehicles from private owners.
The border misinformation had already spread far and wide before Fox’s retraction, however. Many in MAGA world had gone full-bore on insisting the tragedy was the result of border failures under President Joe Biden. Among those making that claim was Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“New Orleans terrorist attacker is said to have come across the border in Eagle Pass TWO DAYS AGO!!!” the Georgia lawmaker wrote on X. “Shut the border down!!! Who did our government bomb lately that is taking it out on innocent Americans?”
A “community note,” used to crowdsource fact-checks on the social media site X, corrected Greene by Wednesday evening. Like both Trump and Vance, she has so far opted to not take her comments down.
In another post linking the attack to the border, Greene suggested the suspect had illegally entered the country.
“What did we expect would happen with wide open borders and millions of gotaways?” she wrote. “The problem is no one trust the FBI under the current leadership, so everyone is questioning every detail they can find in their own. What an absolute disaster America is in.”
Some Republicans continued to beat the border drum well after Fox News retracted its initial report.
“I HAVE BEEN SOUNDING THE ALARM FOR YEARS,” wrote Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Texas Republican and U.S. Army veteran. “The devastating terror attack in New Orleans has left many Americans asking a sobering question: Has the enemy already infiltrated our borders due to Joe Biden’s incompetence and his failure to secure our homeland? If not now, then when?”
