Internet sleuths notice change in FBI special agent’s face after she ‘broke Bureau rule’ at New Orleans press conference

The FBI agent responsible for providing updates on the terror attack in New Orleans has apparently taken off her nose ring after being criticized online for it, according to internet sleuths.

Special Agent Alathea Duncan was seen with the facial piercing during a morning press conference following the terror attack in the French Quarter that left 14 dead on Wednesday.

But at the next press conference, Duncan appeared without the nose jewelry, sparking backlash on social media since the FBI does not allow its agents to have facial piercings.

“Special Agent in Charge Aletha Duncan shows up on scene wearing a nose ring,” read one post on X. “Can the FBI at least pretend to function as a serious law enforcement organization?”

“Did FBI Special Agent Alethea Duncan remove her nose ring after her first press conference – when she said this was “not a terrorist event” – during her second press conference?’ wrote one popular X account.

Duncan also drew criticism when she contradicted the NOLA mayor’s claim that the attack was terrorist in nature.

“This is not a terrorist event,” Duncan claimed before the FBI confirmed that the attack was indeed a terrorist attack.

At a later press conference, Duncan appeared without a nose ring

According to the FBI ‘Facial piercings are not allowed, except for female trainees, who are allowed to wear earrings.’

Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, acted alone when he drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers, the FBI said Thursday, reversing a view from a day earlier that he likely worked with others in carrying out the deadly attack. Officials said it was an act of terror inspired by the Islamic State group.

The FBI also revealed that the driver, a U.S. citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours before the attack in which he joined ISIS and told viewers he had joined the militant group before last summer .

‘This was an act of terror. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.

Fourteen people were killed in the attack, including an 18-year-old woman who aspired to become a nurse. Authorities initially estimated the death toll at 15, including Jabbar, who was fatally shot during a shootout with police.

He was shot and killed by police and the FBI said Wednesday it believed he did not act alone. Investigators found weapons and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other explosive devices elsewhere in the French Quarter.

Officials fanned out to serve search warrants and spent hours at a Houston-area home believed to be connected to the investigation. But as of Thursday morning, no further arrests had been made and it was unclear whether the FBI was still actively searching for more suspects.

The disaster turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre scene of mutilated victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians seeking safety in nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the deaths, dozens of people were injured.

There were also deadly explosions outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by newly elected President Donald Trump. Biden said the FBI was investigating whether the Las Vegas explosion was related to the attack in New Orleans, but had “nothing to report” Wednesday evening.