DOJ and FBI Confirm Pensacola Attacker’s Ties to Al Qa’ida Group

Yesterday Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray announced significant developments into the investigation of the deadly shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station on December 6, 2019. As discussed in their announcement, the FBI was able to unlock the attacker’s phones, which contained information that definitively establishes his ties to Al Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), not only before the attack, but before he even arrived in the U.S. As discussed in the February 4, 2020 Security and Resilience Update, AQAP claimed full responsibility for the attack, even releasing a special video dedicated to the incident. Until now, however, there was limited evidence to substantiate AQAP’s claims, which were subjected to increased scrutiny given that the group has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. The acknowledgement of the group’s role in the attack demonstrated that it still has some influence to inspire attacks, including in the U.S. Read the announcement at the U.S. Department of Justice.