The vehicle that exploded as it was entering the U.S. from Canada on a checkpoint in Niagara Falls “serves as a wake-up call,” presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said, asserting that the country must “finally address the crisis happening on our Northern border.”
“We dodged a potential catastrophe today. I hope it serves as the wake-up call America needs to finally address the crisis happening on our Northern border, which has gone unreported by the media and unaddressed by our political leaders,” Ramaswamy said, listing a series of events that have occurred on the northern border in the last four months, which he said has received little media attention:
– US Border Patrol arrested a former Brazilian military officer who fled Brazil after being convicted of murdering 11 people.
– A Mexican man was charged with being in the country illegally and for smuggling four people across the border and into New Hampshire.
– A man was arrested on charges he helped transport nine illegal immigrants into the state across the Northern Border.
“We cannot be complacent about defending *our own* borders. And as our next Commander-in-Chief, I will lead our country to fix it,” he added.
UNITED STATES – JUNE 22: Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican candidate for president, is interviewed outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
We dodged a potential catastrophe today. I hope it serves as the wake up call America needs to finally address the crisis happening on our Northern border, which has gone unreported by the media and unaddressed by our political leaders. In just the last *4 months* at the Northern…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 22, 2023
Ramaswamy’s warning comes hours after reports of a vehicle exploding at a checkpoint on a bridge in Niagara Falls, on the U.S. side. It is being investigated as an act of suspected terrorism, leading to other bridge closures in the area.
Breaking news: International border crossings between the United States and Canada in Western New York were closed Wednesday due to an explosion involving a vehicle attempting to enter the U.S. pic.twitter.com/6qglBHkc6X
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 22, 2023
Fox reports that the "vehicle explosion" at Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls between U.S. and Canada was an "attempted terrorist attack" with "a lot of explosives in the vehicle at the time." pic.twitter.com/zm77YWbNmo
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) November 22, 2023
“The FBI Buffalo Field Office is investigating a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge, a border crossing between the US and Canada in Niagara Falls,” the FBI said in a statement, adding that it is “coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a statement that the New York State Police is “actively working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry to New York.”
“I am traveling to Buffalo to meet with law enforcement and emergency responders and will update New Yorkers when more information becomes available,” she added.