Connect with us

Southeast

Super Bowl LIX: Inside elite SWAT team's final sprint to secure New Orleans

Published

on

Super Bowl LIX: Inside elite SWAT team's final sprint to secure New Orleans

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

FIRST ON FOX – NEW ORLEANS – In the aftermath of the Jan. 1 terrorist attack on Bourbon Street and between major tourist-heavy events in New Orleans, officials with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are preparing to combat any potential threats during Super Bowl LIX.

HSI was the lead agency initially assigned to coordinate security for the Super Bowl, and preparations began about a year ago, Eric DeLaune, special agent in charge for HSI in New Orleans, told Fox News Digital.

Advertisement

“New Orleans has some unique challenges. The area here is a little more spread out for a Super Bowl,” DeLaune, lead federal coordinator for Super Bowl LIX, said. “The elephant in the room is the attack that occurred on Jan. 1. We would be foolish if we didn’t use what we’ve learned from that to inform how we go forward and how we adapt plans … to make sure we can account for gaps and alternative locations that may be of concern now in that post-attack timeline.”

Just over a month before the Super Bowl, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed a pickup truck through crowds of people celebrating the holiday on Bourbon Street, killing 14 civilians and injuring 57 others. New Orleans police officers fatally shot Jabbar when he exchanged gunfire with officers.

ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI TO TRAVEL TO NEW ORLEANS TO SURVEY SUPER BOWL LIX SECURITY

Investigators work after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd at Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

DeLaune has doubled his request for “tactical resources and assets” from the Department of Homeland Security since the attack.

Advertisement

“We’re going to have a significantly larger presence here in New Orleans in the way of tactical teams and also just special agents working in the area. People who are going to the game or going to the special events associated with the Super Bowl will see a much larger presence of HSI special agents and of HSI tactical assets, as well, walking around downtown, the French Quarter,” he said.

NEW ORLEANS SUED OVER BOURBON STREET TERROR ATTACK, ACCUSED OF NEGLIGENCE THAT COST LIVES

The Homeland Security Investigations SRT team performs drills at Octavio “Ox” Gonzales SRT  Complex in LaPlace, La., Jan. 15, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

President Donald Trump is expected to be in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. DeLaune said the president’s visit doesn’t fundamentally change the agency’s security plans, but Secret Service will be working with state and local counterparts. Trump’s anticipated attendance will actually enhance security in the city because of the inclusion of more federal law enforcement personnel, he explained.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited New Orleans Monday and told reporters there have been “no credible threats” targeting Super Bowl LIX. 

Advertisement

HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SAYS ‘NATIONAL SECURITY BLUNDERS’ OF PAST 4 YEARS HAVE EMBOLDENED TERRORISTS

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference Feb. 3, 2025, about security for Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. (Gerald Herbert)

A Justice Department official also confirmed to Fox News Thursday that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi would travel to New Orleans on her first day in office to survey security for the upcoming game with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.

A team of HSI agents based in nine states across the Southeast, which regularly responds to high-risk criminal activity, trains for specific threat scenarios about 16 hours every month.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK

Advertisement

A team of HSI officers based in nine states across the Southeast, which regularly responds to high-risk criminal activity, trains for specific threat scenarios about 16 hours every month. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

In mid-January, the federal agency’s Special Response Team (SRT) trained at the St. John’s Parish SWAT center near New Orleans about a month ahead of Super Bowl LIX and two weeks after the ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on Bourbon Street.

While the SRT officers train every month, they added specific threat scenarios in January that they might encounter as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the Big Easy.

BOURBON STREET TERROR VICTIMS SUE NEW ORLEANS AS LOUISIANA AG INVESTIGATES SECURITY LAPSES

While the SRT officers train every month, they added specific threat scenarios in January that they might encounter as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras draw thousands of tourists to the Big Easy. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

Advertisement

The SRT walked Fox News Digital through its training operations, during which officers conduct mock operations for scenarios, such as serving a search warrant, rescuing a hostage and responding to a suspicious vehicle or suspicious person in a crowd.

The team is typically deployed to respond to high-risk targets, including suspects who have an extensive criminal history, are hiding in a fortified building, are experiencing mental instability or are gang members.

In the hostage rescue scenario that Fox News Digital participated in by acting as a “victim,” officers responded to a hypothetical call for help, entered the training center, deployed a flashbang, shot a “suspect” dummy with simulation rounds and rescued the “victim.” 

The SRT walked Fox News Digital through its training operations during which officers conduct mock operations for scenarios, such as serving a search warrant, rescuing a hostage and responding to a suspicious vehicle or suspicious person in a crowd. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

The center is set up to resemble a home or building officers might enter during a response.

Advertisement

“For the most part, our special agents are just that. … They’re criminal investigators. We investigate long-term, complex criminal investigations in organizations.”

— SAC Eric DeLaune

“They are law enforcement. They’re not police, but they [are all] law enforcement,” DeLaune said. “We’re trained to deal with an active weapon threat. We’re trained to deal with mass casualty events. And we’re trained to deal with medical emergencies to an extent. So, those agents are prepared to go out there and work with our state and local partners and support them.”

Exterior view of the Octavio “Ox” Gonzales SWAT Complex where the Homeland Security Investigations SRT team perform drills in LaPlace, La., Jan. 15, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

During training operations, HSI officers wear full tactical gear, including helmets, multiple first-aid kits, bullet-proof vests, microphones and training magazines, which are the same guns officers use regularly. But they are converted to fire simulation rounds during training, the team explained to Fox News Digital.

The SRT also showed Fox News Digital how officers use drones and cameras extended on long poles to search inside threat areas before entering.

Advertisement

BOURBON STREET ATTACK, TRUMP TOWER CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION PROBE LAUNCHED BY SENATE COMMITTEE

A Homeland Security Investigations SRT Team vehicle is being used in drills in LaPlace, La., Jan. 15, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

In the search warrant scenario, the SRT demonstrated how officers would arrive in a BearCat vehicle and make their presence known at a location before shooting pepper balls at an entrance, instead of physically knocking on an entrance, to protect officers and civilians. Officers would then enter and search each room at the location for threats or victims.

The SRT officers described themselves as a family because of how much time they spend working together, typically away from their homes and real families. The team spends an average of three weeks out of every month together. 

AMERICAN RADICALIZED BY ISIS EXPRESSED ‘EXCITEMENT’ ABOUT TRAVELING OVERSEAS TO SUPPORT TERRORIST GROUP: FBI

Advertisement

The SRT officers described themselves as a family because of how much time they spend working together. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

The Jan. 1 attack was “a pretty painful experience for” HSI New Orleans agents, DeLaune said. 

“That weighs heavily on the minds of our people here, but they’re committed … to providing a safe and secure atmosphere for the Super Bowl. And they’re committed to providing a safe and secure atmosphere for Mardi Gras, which is unique to us,” DeLaune explained, adding that HSI New Orleans is comprised of a lot of locals and Louisiana natives. 

BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT SAYS NEW ORLEANS ATTACKER EXHIBITED ‘RED FLAGS’ BEFORE ATTACK

Matthias Hauswirth of New Orleans prays on the street near the location where a terrorist drove into a crowd at New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon streets Jan. 1, 2025.  (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Advertisement

“They have an emotional personal investment here in the city and in traditions such as Mardi Gras and in supporting big events such as the Super Bowl. So, there’s a lot of pride here for these agents, and they’re getting the work done every day,” he said.

DeLaune also had a message for the public ahead of the Super Bowl.

“Don’t hold on to it, and don’t be embarrassed to report something,” he said. “Don’t dismiss your instincts. If there’s something that’s not right, let us know. Let us decide whether or not it’s something to be concerned about.”

Authorities patrol Bourbon Street after it reopened in New Orleans Jan. 2, 2025, after the deadly New Year’s attack. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

The FBI continues to investigate the terrorist attack that left 15 people dead on Jan. 1, including the perpetrator.

Advertisement

Federal authorities said Jabbar had previously visited New Orleans twice, once on Oct. 30, 2024, and once on Nov. 10, 2024. He also visited Cairo and Toronto prior to the attack, the FBI said.

While Jabbar apparently acted alone, authorities are investigating whether he had any accomplices.

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Southeast

Virginia prosecutor’s record on violent offenders scrutinized after illegal immigrant charged in mom’s murder

Published

on

Virginia prosecutor’s record on violent offenders scrutinized after illegal immigrant charged in mom’s murder

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A prosecutor in Virginia is facing criticism after a Fairfax County Police Department officer warned the county’s commonwealth attorney about a criminal illegal immigrant who has racked up over 30 arrests before allegedly killing a mother.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, was charged with second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed a mother to death while at a bus stop in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Feb. 23. Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano’s office, however, was warned several times about how dangerous Jalloh is, and dismissed many of his previous criminal charges.

Jalloh’s case is far from the only controversial actions by Descano’s office, which even includes a plea deal with a murder suspect that allows him the chance at freedom.

POLICE WARNED PROSECUTORS 3 TIMES ABOUT VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BEFORE HE ALLEGEDLY KILLED VIRGINIA MOTHER

Advertisement

Here’s a list of controversial cases handled by Descano’s office:

Abdul Jalloh

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop.  (Fox 5 DC)

Jalloh, 32, was charged with second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed a mother to death while at a bus stop in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Feb. 23. The victim, 41-year-old Stephanie Minter, was found dead with multiple stab wounds to her upper body, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Jalloh has a violent rapsheet dating back to 2014 and includes over 30 arrests with several charges dismissed by Descano’s office.

Jalloh was arrested the next day while he was allegedly trying to steal from a liquor store when an employee called 911. Officials said Jalloh came to the U.S. illegally in 2012 from Sierra Leone under the Obama administration.

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer on Jalloh in 2020, and he was later issued a final order of removal allowing him to be deported to any country other than Sierra Leone. Despite that order, he was not deported.

A police major for the Fairfax County Police Department even warned Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano about Jalloh on at least three separate occasions, according to emails obtained by WJLA.

Advertisement

In one email to Fairfax County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands, the police major said Jalloh “is one of the repeat (and violent) offenders” that they had discussed before. 

TRAVIS COUNTY DA FACES RENEWED ‘SOFT ON CRIME’ CRITICISM AFTER CAREER CRIMINAL CHARGED WITH MURDER

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano speaking at an event. (Sarah Voisin/Getty Images)

“I wanted to get your background on why he is out so soon and ask if his prior suspended sentence (of I believe 5 years) was pursued by your office? Unfortunately, based on MTV Station’s numerous dealings with him, it is not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again. My role of keeping the public safe, prompts me to follow up on his status,” the major wrote.

A Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the office “was aware of Jalloh’s criminal history and shared police concerns about potential future dangerousness. That is why our Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney personally handled these cases.”

Advertisement

The spokesperson added that prosecutors “will often explore many different pathways to successful prosecution, but, at the end of the day, our decisions are constrained by what testimony is available and what is legally permissible and practicable in Fairfax courts.”

Joshua Danehower

In 2022, Joshua Danehower was arrested for the murder of Gret Glyer. (Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office)

In 2022, Danehower was charged with Gret Glyer’s murder. According to WUSA 9, Glyer, who owned the donation platform DonorSee, was shot 10 times as he slept next to his wife on June 24, 2022. 

Prosecutors alleged Danehower killed Glyer because of an obsession with his wife. The suspect allegedly became fixated with her after a church function, and according to her family, the two had gone on a date about a decade ago.

Danehower was given a plea deal by Descano’s office, which found him not guilty by reason of insanity in February.

Advertisement

DHS RIPS DEM-RUN COUNTY AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MURDERER RELEASED: ‘BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS’

Virginia law requires Danehower to be sent to a psychiatric hospital, where his status will be evaluated on an annual basis for the next five years, then every two years afterward. If he’s deemed no longer a threat to himself or others, he’d have an opportunity to be released from the psychiatric hospital.

Heather Glyer, the victim’s wife, said while on the witness stand, “I was robbed of my life partner.”

“My kids were robbed of their father,” she added.

Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron

Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron pleaded guilty to lesser charges. (DHS)

Advertisement

In January 2025, according to a report by former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Ramos-Giron, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, choked his ex-wife during an argument and pulled out a knife.

He was charged with felony abduction by force, felony strangulation, and misdemeanor assault and battery against a family member after the incident, but Descano’s office allowed him to plead to lesser charges of misdemeanor battery and brandishing a bladed weapon.

In a statement released by Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Deputy Chief of Staff and Public Information Officer Laura Birnbaum, according to the report, the plea agreement “achieved the outcomes that the victim wanted.”

SEND US A TIP HERE

However, when the victim spoke with 7News, she refuted Birnbaum’s statement, saying she didn’t agree to the plea deal.

Advertisement

“He’s dangerous,” she said, fearing another violent incident would happen.

“If I die, who is going to take care of them?” the victim asked, referring to her children.

Ronnie Reel

Ronnie Reel accepted a plea deal by Fairfax county prosecutors. (Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office)

In July 2021, Reel was arrested on charges of sexual penetration, forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual battery against a minor, according to the Fairfax County Times.

During Reel’s trial on Sept. 13, 2022, Chief Judge of the Fairfax County Circuit Court Penney Azcarate ruled that the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s office had missed an evidentiary deadline, meaning confessions, including a call from Reel to a defendant’s mother where he allegedly confessed, as well as other evidence and witnesses couldn’t be used in court.

Advertisement

According to the outlet, that meant the case would rely on the victim’s testimony entirely.

As a result, Reel was offered a plea deal and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery and was sentenced to one year in prison, but was released on time served. He also wasn’t required to register as a sex offender, according to FOX 5.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The mother, who asked to be identified as Amber, told FOX 5 the case has had a big impact on her son.

“I was really upset. This is my child, this is my baby,” she said while crying. “And he got no justice. So he continues to see me cry and everything. He held his own, he stayed strong. He’s always trying to be strong for mom.”

Advertisement

“He was confessing every little detail that he did, and it was making me sick to my stomach,” she added. “It was horrible. He literally confessed to me why he did it.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Southeast

MIKE DAVIS: Virginia returns to the Confederacy with a seditious conspiracy against ICE

Published

on

MIKE DAVIS: Virginia returns to the Confederacy with a seditious conspiracy against ICE

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Immigration enforcement is a core federal power. Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress has the duty to write our federal immigration laws. Under Article II, the President has the duty to enforce them. States cannot meddle and certainly not obstruct. Unfortunately, many Democrat states, especially Virginia, are on a deadly collision course with the federal government.

American voters gave President Trump and the Republican-led Congress a broad electoral mandate to reverse the disaster the Biden-Harris border policy caused in every state in America by mass importing as many as 20 million illegal aliens, including the worst of the worst around the world. 

Activist judges and other Democrat politicians and election deniers have done everything they can fathom to thwart Trump’s constitutional duty to expel these dangerous illegal aliens.

TRUMP URGES DHS, ICE TO PUBLICIZE ARRESTS, SAYS CRACKDOWN IS ‘SAVING MANY INNOCENT LIVES’

Advertisement

The latest example is Virginia, which is passing a series of unconstitutional laws that would dangerously and illegally obstruct ICE. These proposals include criminal penalties, meaning that state law enforcement would attempt to arrest and jail ICE agents for simply doing their jobs. 

This effort is seditious, insurrectionist, extremely dangerous and blatantly unconstitutional. For the sake of the Republic, the Justice Department must immediately and aggressively quell this Virginia seditious conspiracy.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Davis Spanberger laughs aloud during a ceremony in a Virginia court in Richmond. (Mike Kropf-Pool/Getty Images)

Fairfax County District Attorney Steve Descano is the Soros puppet Democrat prosecutor in the DC suburb, an uber-wealthy Democrat enclave that is an albatross around Virginia’s neck. Abdul Jalloh is an illegal alien who invaded our country in 2012. Jalloh settled in Virginia and began wreaking havoc on the good citizens there, racking up a whopping 30 arrests. These included one for rape and four charges for stabbing Americans. 

Yet, thanks to the willful ineptitude of Fairfax County’s Democrat regime, Jalloh only had one felony conviction. He violated his probation, spent three months in jail and went free because of a deal between his lawyer and Descano’s office. Sanctuary jurisdictions like Fairfax County do not notify ICE when detaining or releasing illegals like Jalloh, who had a final order of removal from 2020. 

Advertisement

Police in Fairfax repeatedly warned Descano’s office via email that Jalloh’s release would endanger the public, but the pleas fell on deaf ears. Earlier this week, Jalloh allegedly stabbed to death 41-year-old innocent mother Stephanie Minter at a bus stop.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran as a moderate Democrat. But after her inauguration this year, she immediately showed her true leftist colors. She issued an order prohibiting cooperation between state officials and ICE. 

Several anti-ICE bills await Spanberger’s signature: (1) a prohibition against ICE arrests at courthouses (where these alleged dangerous criminal illegals visit daily); (2) a prohibition against ICE arrests within 40 feet of polling places (where illegals violate federal criminal laws by voting); and (3) criminal penalties for ICE agents who wear masks (because they don’t want to get doxxed and killed).

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano (Sarah Voisin/Getty Images)

If Spanberger signs these unconstitutional state laws, the Trump Justice Department should immediately sue and seek to enjoin them in court. A Virginia federal judge should issue an injunction, following the lead of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which fully stayed California’s unconstitutional prohibition against ICE agents’ use of masks.

Advertisement

But civil enforcement is not enough. Virginia Democrat officials plotting to arrest ICE agents for doing their jobs (seditious conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 2384) — and especially those who cause the arrests (insurrection under 18 U.S.C. § 2383, assault, kidnapping, harboring, conspiracy, and more) — must go to federal prison for their serious federal felonies. If anyone gets killed in a deadly standoff between these new Virginia confederates and ICE, these Virginia Democrat officials must face felony murder charges.

VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS UNLEASH ON VCU NURSE FIRED OVER ‘HEALTHCARE TERRORISM’ ENCOURAGING HARMING ICE AGENTS

Former President Biden and his missing-in-action border czar Kamala Harris allowed millions of illegal immigrants, including the most violent and dangerous criminals in the world, to pour across our borders. Trump is doing everything in his power to fulfill his broad electoral mandate and undo the damage by arresting and deporting these illegals.

Virginia’s proposed laws do not merely prohibit communication between state officials and ICE; rather, they criminalize federal law enforcement actions that are plainly within the scope of federal immigration enforcement power.

Abdul Jalloh has racked up over 30 arrests since entering the U.S., according to officials. (DHS)

Advertisement

States do not have to help ICE by, for instance, providing law enforcement resources to assist in ICE apprehensions of illegals. But states certainly cannot subvert or obstruct these federal efforts. This is especially true of Virginia’s attempt to arrest ICE agents in the line of duty, which could justify their use of deadly force.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Virginia’s attempt to subvert and obstruct federal law must fail. We fought the Civil War because the Confederacy, headquartered in Virginia, sought to nullify federal law with respect to slavery. Today’s Virginia Democrats are reverting to their confederate roots. 

Just as the federal government did during the Civil War and for a century after when segregationist states continued their efforts to nullify federal law, the federal government now must stand strong against Virginia’s sedition and insurrection. The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution makes plain that federal law is supreme in areas where the federal government has authority.

If Virginia gets away with effectively nullifying federal immigration enforcement, other states can nullify any other federal law that it finds distasteful. Let’s hope Abigail Spanberger comes to her senses and vetoes this insanity. If she does not, the federal government must use all tools at its disposal, including the Insurrection Act of 1807 and other federal criminal statutes, to preserve federal law. 

Advertisement

Virginia state officials must go to federal prison for engaging in seditious conspiracy, insurrections and other very serious federal felonies. Anything less would threaten the existence of the Republic.

CLICK FOR MORE FROM MIKE DAVIS

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Southeast

South Carolina pastor describes evacuating members from Middle East after war broke out during Israel trip

Published

on

South Carolina pastor describes evacuating members from Middle East after war broke out during Israel trip

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Dozens of members of a South Carolina church are finally back in the United States after Operation Epic Fury left them stranded in Israel for nearly a week after their flight was supposed to depart.

Forty members of Calvary Chapel Summerville landed in Israel on Feb. 20 for eight days of exploration in the Holy Land. 

The group was set to fly home on Feb. 28 and had arrived at the airport three hours before their scheduled departure when the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. The attack prompted the closure of Israel’s airspace and the group had to evacuate the airport.

“It felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders and I just prayed and prayed and prayed and asked God to give me wisdom,” said Vic Carroll, pastor at Calvary Chapel Summerville in South Carolina.

Advertisement

TRAVELERS STRANDED IN DUBAI PAYING HUGE SUMS TO FLEE ON PRIVATE CHARTER FLIGHTS AMID OPERATION EPIC FURY

Members of Calvary Chapel Summerville visit Al-Khazneh in Petra. (Melanie Carroll)

Carroll said the group had to shelter-in-place in Israel, going in and out of bomb shelters for several days. He then had to face the decision of the group staying or taking a bus to Jordan to have a shot at getting a flight back to the United States.

“We ultimately, you know, made the decision between what was bad and what was worse. I thought the worst would be to stay,” the pastor said. 

“We were instructed that if a siren goes off while we were on the road, the bus would pull over, we would all need to get on the ground, lay on the ground face-down for at least 10 minutes until the threat was gone, and then be on our way,” he continued.

Advertisement

STATE DEPARTMENT USES PATRIOTS TEAM PLANE TO EVACUATE AMERICANS FROM MIDDLE EAST

The members of Calvary Chapel Summerville sightseeing in the Holy Land. (Melanie Carroll)

Fortunately, that did not happen and the group made it to the airport in Jordan to hop on a flight out of the Middle East Thursday morning.

Before the flight, Carroll said it was frightening, but their faith was greater than their fear.

“We’re just having to trust that we’re making the right decision, and this is our only option to get home, so we [were] just trusting in God,” he said.

Advertisement

AMERICAN STUCK IN MIDDLE EAST ESCAPES IN RACE TO REACH CRITICALLY ILL HUSBAND IN CALIFORNIA

The group returned to the U.S. on Thursday night, landing at JFK in New York.

Melanie Carroll, the pastor’s wife, texted, “We are so thankful!!!!! It’s surreal!!” 

Melanie and Vic Carroll while visiting The Holy Land. (Kailey Schuyler)

The unexpected extension of the trip caused the price tag to increase significantly. Melanie created a GoFundMe, writing, “The path to get us home between lodging, flights and transfers will be upwards of $2500 per person.”

Advertisement

The group was able to raise their goal of $100,000 in less than three days.

Melanie said the group is continuing to pray for everyone trying to get out of the Middle East. 

Nearly 24,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. after fleeing the Middle East since Operation Epic Fury began last week, according to the State Department.

Advertisement

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Trending