Fears of extremism in military jump after New Year’s attacks
The primary suspects in two deadly New Year’s Day attacks shared a history of service in the U.S. military, underscoring persistent fears over extremism within the armed services.
The suspect behind a truck rampage in New Orleans that killed 14 people, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an Army veteran, while the man allegedly behind the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck before the international Trump hotel in Las Vegas, Matthew Livelsberger, was active-duty Army.
While not the first acts of military extremism, the two deadly attacks amplify questions about the extent of radical and unstable veterans and active-duty troops and whether the Pentagon’s efforts to identify and root out extremist beliefs are working.
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, who has studied military extremist activity for decades, said the unresolved problem was particularly dangerous because veterans and active duty service members can kill more efficiently.
“The military has not adequately addressed the problem, whether it’s white supremacists or Islamic extremists,” she said. “These cases are a reminder of how important it is that people with potential to become extreme aren’t trained in military tactics.”
Jabbar, 42, was a U.S. citizen from Texas who served in the Army from 2007 to 2020, including a year of deployment in Afghanistan, and retired as a staff sergeant. It’s unclear if he served in combat, but he was trained as an information technology specialist.
Police said they found an ISIS flag in his truck and social media posts online sympathizing with the U.S.-designated terrorist group.
Less is known about the motivation of Livelsberger, who police have identified as the suspect behind the Cybertruck that exploded in front of the Trump hotel after it was loaded with explosives. Only Livelsberger was killed in the blast but seven others were injured.
Livelsberger was an active-duty Green Beret stationed in Germany, but was on leave for the holidays, according to media reports. He was an operations master sergeant.
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland found last year that at least 721 individuals with U.S. military backgrounds committed criminal acts in the U.S. from 1990 through April 2024, with a political, economic, social, or religious goal.
According to START, the number of individuals with military backgrounds engaged in extremist attacks has increased from 11 percent in 2018 to 18 percent in 2022.
