Twin terror attacks, gang shooting close presidency of former 'law and order' champion

Once the author of a major crime, security, and law enforcement package, President Joe Biden will leave public office in the wake of suspected terrorist attacks and gang shootings that has opponents chastising his handling of the issues nationwide.

On New Year’s Day, New Orleans became the scene of a terrorist attack when Shamsud Din Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran and citizen, drove through a crowded French Quarter street at high speed, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens others. In Las Vegas, a driver identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a resident of Colorado Springs and an Army veteran, drove a Tesla Cybertruck to the entrance of the Trump Hotel and detonated it. The explosion was largely limited to the vehicle and only the driver died in that incident. Both incidents are under investigation as acts of terrorism.

Wednesday evening, moreover, saw ten people shot in a drive by shooting outside a Queens, N.Y. nightclub. Authorities are investigating possible gang connections to that incident. The New York City area, moreover, is still reeling from the immolation of a subway passenger by a suspected Guatemalan migrant in mid-December.

Soft targets and crowded spaces

The string of lethal altercations over a short time frame has Americans increasingly worried about security shortcomings and criminal vulnerabilities as some analysts warn of a new era of terrorism against soft targets and crowded spaces.

"With the Biden 'Open Border’s Policy' I said, many times during Rallies, and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe," President-elect Donald Trump posted on Truth Social. "That time has come, only worse than ever imagined."

One of Biden’s hallmark legislative accomplishments was a 1994 crime bill that raised the minimum penalties for a wide array of offenses and imposed an assault weapons ban. Throughout his Senate career, Biden was a vocal proponent of tough-on-crime measures. At one point, he recommended a shotgun for home defense, saying "Jill, if there's ever a problem just walk out on the balcony here ... put that double-barreled shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house."

His record on those issues, however, proved somewhat embarrassing for him while running for president amid the defund-the-police movement. Trump also repeatedly blasted the bill, asserting that it led to mass incarceration of black Americans for non-violent offenses.

Moving to the left

Biden stopped shy of openly embracing the defund the police movement, but gradually moved further to the left on law enforcement issues throughout the campaign and his presidency. In mid-December alone, Biden announced the single largest act of executive branch clemency in modern U.S. history by pardoning 39 people and commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 more. 

Many of those whose sentences were commuted were people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities, according to NPR.

“The President recognizes how the clemency power can advance equal justice under law and remedy harms caused by practices of the past,” a statement from the White House read.

His own sweeping pardon of his son Hunter that protected him from any and all crimes -- including potential gun charges --  he may have committed since 2014 also placed an asterisk on his "law and order" record.

Biden’s administration was further marked by a litany of scandals involving federal law enforcement and the apparent targeting of perceived political opponents, such as traditional Roman Catholics and concerned parents opposed to transgender policies in public schools. His Department of Justice, moreover, attracted scrutiny for pursuing allegedly politicized cases against Trump as he ran to reclaim the White House.

Prosecuting political views instead of crime

Though each scandal generated outrage at the time, they returned to the forefront in the wake of the terror attacks, with some asserting that federal law enforcement were too concerned with politicized investigations and prosecutions to adequately monitor genuine security threats.

“Biden's FBI is more concerned with woke DEI initiatives and spying on its citizens than protecting Americans from credible threats,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said. “President Trump and the next FBI Director have an uphill battle ahead of them.”

“The FBI was too busy spying on school board parents, pastors, and the wives of congressional staffers to be bothered with stopping ISIS attacks before they happen,” Federalist CEO Sean Davis said of revelations that Din Jabbar had joined ISIS before the Summer of 2024.

The FBI confirmed on Thursday that Din Jabbar had posted five videos to his Facebook account prior to his rampage in which he expressed support for the Islamic State and said he joined the terrorist organization months before.

In a public post on social media, Biden himself insisted that the FBI would take the lead on investigating the terrorist attacks and that his own government would not permit attacks on Americans.

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” he said. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities.”