Federal prosecutors say a Missouri man turned online bomb-making guidance into a criminal case with deadly real-world consequences.
Authorities charged Jordan Derrick, 40, of Sweet Springs, Missouri, in connection with videos and other material that allegedly explained how to manufacture explosives. According to prosecutors, the person behind the deadly New Year’s Day 2025 attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter used those tutorials as a blueprint to build improvised bombs. The charges announced Tuesday include engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license, unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device, and illicitly distributing information related to manufacturing explosives.
Key Facts
- Federal authorities filed charges against Jordan Derrick of Sweet Springs, Missouri.
- Prosecutors say his online tutorials helped guide bomb-making tied to the New Orleans attack.
- The attack struck the French Quarter on New Year’s Day 2025 and proved deadly.
- The case includes charges involving unlicensed explosive manufacturing and an unregistered destructive device.
The case pushes a hard question into public view: when does online instruction cross from speech into alleged criminal assistance? Prosecutors argue this case crossed that line. Their announcement frames the tutorials not as abstract discussion, but as practical instruction that reports indicate another person put to violent use. That distinction will likely shape both the legal fight ahead and the public debate around platforms, enforcement, and accountability.
Prosecutors say the online tutorials served as a blueprint for improvised bombs used in the deadly New Orleans attack.
The charges also show how investigators increasingly trace acts of violence through digital footprints as well as physical evidence. Sources suggest federal authorities will focus on how the material circulated, what it contained, and how directly it connected to the attacker's bomb-making process. That approach could make this case a test of how far the government can go when it argues that online content materially aids violence.
What happens next matters well beyond one defendant. Prosecutors now must prove not only what Derrick posted, but how that material fits into the events that ended in bloodshed in the French Quarter. The outcome could influence future cases involving extremist violence, online instructional content, and the limits of liability in the internet age.