(The Center Square) – In the wake of a New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans committed by a Houston resident, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to surge Texas Anti-Terrorism Task Force resources “to aggressively combat radical jihadist terrorism.”
Jabbar was reportedly inspired by the Islamic terrorist organization, ISIS, to drive into a crowd of people on Jan. 1, killing 14 and injuring at least 35.
“Terrorism has no place in Texas,” Abbott said. “Law enforcement at all levels must aggressively collaborate to eliminate radicalization that can lead to terrorist attacks.”
He said Texas is expanding preventative efforts, including DPS working with FBI field offices to increase anti-terrorism operations statewide and “the number of intelligence analysts assigned to investigate terrorism and mass attack threats and to provide analytical assistance to local jurisdictions.”
DPS will work with federal agencies to identify, locate and assess potential threats from Special Interest Aliens (SIAs). DPS officers working through Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, continue to arrest SIAs illegally entering the country, The Center Square reported. Under the Biden administration, Border Patrol agents identified “an exponential increase” in SIAs … with significant ties to terrorism,” a retired sector chief told Congress, saying he was instructed not to publicize their arrests.
After it was reported that Jabbar used advanced technology and strategically placed improvised explosive devices in key locations on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Abbott said DPS will work with federal and local jurisdictions to expand a bomb-making materials awareness program and enhance information sharing among the private sector and law enforcement about suspicious purchases of materials that may be used to construct IEDs.
DPS will also work with local partners to train and educate Texas communities about terrorism and targeted violence prevention and awareness and with local law enforcement partners to enhance security for special events and mass gatherings. DPS will also provide assistance related to vulnerability assessments, threat detection technology, analytical support and security personnel, he said.
DPS will support local jurisdictions with efforts to plan and conduct mass casualty attack response workshops to improve local community efforts to detect, deter and respond to terrorist attacks; is “developing a new exercise series focused on coordinating with private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure to conduct workshops focused on detection of, deterrence of, and response to physical attacks against critical infrastructure;” and is offering additional certification and training opportunities to expand intelligence sharing, suspicious activity reporting, and incident coordination with private sector partners. DPS is also reassessing the vulnerability of the Capitol Complex to vehicle ramming and other types of potential terrorist attacks and will make recommendations.
Abbott made the announcement after the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security published a report citing more than 50 jihadist cases in 29 states under the Biden administration, The Center Square reported. “Foreign jihadist networks and homegrown violent extremists” represent a “persistent terror threat to America,” the committee said.
“From the Biden-Harris administration’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and the spillover effects of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against our ally Israel to the vulnerabilities caused by our wide-open borders, the United States is facing a dynamic and worsening terror threat landscape,” Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said.
Islamic terrorist attacks increased under Biden, primarily perpetrated by Afghan, Pakistani, Jordanian, Iranian or Lebanese men who expressed support for ISIS or Hamas, The Center Square reported.
Antisemitic incidents also drastically increased, prompting Abbott to surge resources. “Antisemitism is never acceptable in Texas, and we will do everything we can to fight it,” said Abbott, who has repeatedly expressed his commitment to standing with Israel and the Jewish community. “Across the country, acts of antisemitism have grown in number, size, and danger to the Jewish community since Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7th.”
At a commemorative event on Oct. 7, 2024, Abbott said, “the world cannot have peace until Hamas is gone.” Referring to the Lebanon-based Islamic terrorist organization, he said, “Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been exposed for what they are: tools of Iran.”
He also signed bills passed by the state legislature to prohibit state agencies from doing business with companies that do business with Iran or are involved in the boycott, divest, sanction movement against Israel. “We don’t do business with regimes to chant death to America and death to Israel,” he maintains.
