By Gabe WhisnantShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberAn Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and assault charges during his first court appearance, joining the proceedings by video from a hospital bed.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is charged in the Nov. 26 attack that killed Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Both were deployed to Washington with the West Virginia National Guard as part of President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge, which has brought an influx of federal agents and military personnel to the capital since August. His attorney entered the plea on his behalf during a brief hearing in federal court.
Prosecutor Ariel Dean called the attack a “shocking crime” and said initial evidence suggests Lakanwal moved through several parts of the city before approaching the troops and opening fire in what authorities believe was an ambush. A magistrate judge ordered him detained pending further proceedings, citing the “sheer terror that resulted” from the shooting.
...The rare killing of National Guard soldiers on U.S. soil has unfolded against a politically charged backdrop, as the Trump administration faces legal challenges and public criticism over its expanded use of military forces to address what officials describe as rampant crime in Washington.
Officials said Lakanwal arrived in the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He applied for asylum during Biden’s presidency, but the advocacy group #AfghanEvac said his claim was approved after Trump took office.
Trump has labeled the shooting a “terrorist attack” and blamed the Biden administration for allowing Afghans who worked with U.S. forces to enter the country. The president has also renewed calls to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and to carry out mass removals of immigrants living in the U.S.
Updates: 12/2/25, 3:11 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information.
Reporting by the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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