The Department of Justice announced today that charges against the man accused of ambushing two National Guard members near the White House have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers succumbed to her wounds. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro bluntly told Fox & Friends that prosecutors will pursue the highest charges if the facts continue to point to a deliberate, targeted attack on our troops. Americans should be furious that those who wear the uniform on our streets can be ambushed and then have the answer offered to grieving families be mere legal maneuvering instead of decisive justice.
The accused has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who U.S. officials say entered the country under Operation Allies Welcome and later settled in Washington state with his family. Federal officials disclosed that Lakanwal had previously worked with U.S. partner forces in Afghanistan — a troubling detail that raises hard questions about how vetting and resettlement were handled. This is not abstract policy; it directly intersects with the safety of every American and every servicemember on duty in our capital.
Authorities describe the attack as an ambush carried out with a .357 Magnum revolver, striking Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe as they patrolled — Beckstrom later dying from her injuries and Wolfe clinging to life. Witnesses and officials said the alleged shooter fired repeatedly and was wounded during an exchange with other Guardsmen before being taken into custody under guard. There is nothing more chilling than seeing our own citizens and our uniformed defenders targeted on American soil in broad daylight.
We should also be clear-eyed about how this man arrived here: reports indicate his asylum application was approved after coming through Operation Allies Welcome, and questions now swirl about the vetting that allowed him to resettle. Whether this was a lone, deranged individual or something more sinister, we cannot ignore the policy failure if people who pose risks are slipping past the system. Every American who has lost trust in government because of repeated failures deserves answers — not platitudes from officials more interested in optics than outcomes.
The political response has been swift but overdue: the president ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington and federal agencies have paused certain Afghan immigration processing while they review security protocols. That action is necessary but it is not sufficient; reviews and temporary halts must become permanent reforms that protect Americans first. If politicians refuse to fix the holes in our vetting and resettlement process, they will have to answer to the families of the fallen and to the voters who put them in office.
This is a moment for results, not spin. Conservatives have long warned that open-door policies without rigorous checks invite danger, and this brutal ambush proves the point in the worst possible way. Lawmakers must move fast: tighten vetting, suspend at-risk resettlement streams, and mandate a transparent audit showing where the process failed and who is responsible.
We owe the fallen guardsman and her comrades more than words — we owe them justice and a nation that learns from its mistakes. Prosecutors should use every tool available to secure the maximum penalty for an attack on our soldiers, and commanders must be empowered to keep troops safe on home soil without political interference.
Hardworking Americans are tired of being made to feel unsafe in their own capital while elites debate theory. It’s time to put country before ideology, protect our men and women in uniform, and restore common-sense policies that keep families safe.
