A Senate committee has launched an investigation into the New Year's Day terrorist attack in New Orleans and a separate explosion in Las Vegas, seeking to understand the perpetrators' backgrounds, motivations, and potential connections. The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Subcommittee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI), is demanding answers from several federal agencies, including the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and the FBI. They've also requested information from Meta regarding the online activities of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the New Orleans attacker.

Jabbar, a Texas native with reported ties to ISIS extremism, killed 15 people by driving a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street. He posted videos on Facebook just hours before the attack. The committee is also scrutinizing the response of the FBI's New Orleans field office, following whistleblower allegations that the Special Agent in Charge was on vacation during the attack and didn't return until January 2nd. The Senators expressed concern that this absence wasn't disclosed in prior briefings.

The Las Vegas incident involved Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who detonated a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel, resulting in his death. The committee is investigating Livelsberger's background and motivation as well. He was an Army master sergeant on leave from his station in Germany. While the FBI has stated there's no link between the two incidents, the senators pointed out that both Jabbar and Livelsberger had overlapping military service at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan, and both rented vehicles from the same company, Turo.

Jabbar's military history, which included deployment to Afghanistan, and his prior visits to New Orleans, Cairo, and Toronto are also under scrutiny. While he appears to have acted alone in the attack, investigators are still exploring the possibility of accomplices.