A Missouri man has been charged with publishing online bomb-making tutorials that were used by the terrorist who carried out the deadly New Year's Day attack in New Orleans' French Quarter in 2025.
Jordan Derrick, 40, of Sweet Springs, Missouri, faces three charges: engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license, unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device, and illicitly distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives. The charges were announced on Tuesday by US Attorney R Matthew Price.
The charges stem from the 1 January 2025 attack, when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens before being shot dead by police. Jabbar, an Islamic State sympathiser, had planted two improvised explosive devices that failed to detonate.
According to the criminal complaint, Derrick's social media accounts provided step-by-step instructions that Jabbar downloaded to construct the explosives. The FBI determined that the design of the devices matched techniques Derrick began posting about as early as September 2023. His tutorials allegedly demonstrated how to synthesise military-grade materials such as RDX, TNT and PETN.
The investigation intensified after a 4 May 2026 explosion at a home in Odessa, Missouri, where the occupant said he had made an explosive after watching Derrick's tutorials. If convicted of distributing information on manufacturing explosives, Derrick faces up to 20 years in prison. The other charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years each.
