Quincy Reporter

U.S. Representative Mary Miller expressed concerns about national security, stating, "We face the gravest danger since 9/11 because Biden delivered 4 years of America-last chaos." This statement was made in a Facebook post on January 1.

"Praying for the victims in New Orleans who deserve justice," said Miller, according to Facebook. "We face the gravest danger since 9/11 because Biden delivered 4 years of America-last chaos and used the FBI to target parents, Christians, and Trump voters while ignoring the ISIS threat. Jan 20 cannot come soon enough!"

A tragic incident occurred on New Year's Day when a man drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, resulting in the deaths of at least 14 people before he died in a shootout with police. According to CBS News, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has classified it as an act of terrorism and noted that there was a black ISIS flag on the truck's bumper. The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, aged 42 and a U.S. citizen from Texas, rented the truck and had been residing in Houston prior to traveling to New Orleans. Anne Kirkpatrick, deputy superintendent for the New Orleans Police Department, said that Jabbar bypassed police barricades and drove onto the Bourbon Street sidewalk with the intent to harm as many individuals as possible before exiting the vehicle and opening fire on officers.

Screenshot of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller's Jan. 1 Facebook post. | U.S. Rep. Mary Miller's Facebook page

NBC News reported that Jabbar had been employed by Deloitte since 2021 and had rented a Ford F-150 Lightning truck through Turo, a car-sharing network. The report indicated that Turo did not consider his criminal background to pose a security threat. The FBI is currently investigating this incident and revealed that weapons and potential improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found inside the vehicle and in the French Quarter. At this stage, it remains unclear whether these IEDs were planted or operable.

Jabbar served in the Army from 2006 to 2015 and continued his service in the Army Reserve until his honorable discharge in 2020. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 as an administrative clerk.

Mary Miller is serving as a U.S. Congress member representing Illinois' 15th district after succeeding John Shimkus in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Eastern Illinois University. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, Miller resides in Oakland with her family. She has seven children and twenty grandchildren and continues to manage their fourth-generation family farm alongside her husband.