Southeast
Super Bowl LIX: Inside elite SWAT team's final sprint to secure New Orleans
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.
“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.
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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.
“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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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.
“For the most part, our special agents are just that. … They’re criminal investigators. We investigate long-term, complex criminal investigations in organizations.”
“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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
“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.
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.
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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.
Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.
Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.
Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original.
“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.
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“It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.
Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.
In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”
“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.
“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”
“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.
The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.
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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.
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Southeast
Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges
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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)
Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day.
He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later.
Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing.
A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding.
In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported.
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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”
“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said.
“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”
Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia. (Provided)
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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person.
“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states.
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Southeast
Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’
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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.
The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.
The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.
The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”
Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.
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Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.
The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.
The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.
Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)
“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”
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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.
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