Washington, D.C. National Guard Islamist Shooting, 2025

Washington, D.C. National Guard Islamist Shooting, 2025

On November 26, 2025, two members of the West Virginia National Guard deployed to secure Washington, D.C., were ambushed in a jihadist attack near Farragut West station, just two blocks from the White House. One guardsman, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, was martyred; the second survived in critical condition. The [[Afghanistan]|Afghan]] attacker, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was wounded by return fire and a knife from one of the guardsmen.

The Islamist attacker, a former CIA-backed paramilitary operative, entered the United States with his family under Biden’s chaotic Operation Allies Welcome / special immigrant visa pipeline following the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. The incident has ignited nationwide demands for a complete overhaul of America’s broken immigration and vetting systems.

Washington, D.C. National Guard Islamist Shooting, 2025

Attacker

Rahmanullah Lakanwal (born February 9, 1996), a Pashtun from Khost Province, served in a CIA-supported “Zero Unit” notorious for night raids on Taliban targets. Sources close to him later described severe mental trauma and radicalization. He entered the U.S. in 2021 under Biden administration programs, settled in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children, and was granted asylum in 2024.

Reactions and analysis

President Donald Trump immediately ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to the capital and vowed sweeping immigration reform, including a pause on migration from high-risk nations and potential denaturalization of security threats.

Conservative outrage focused on the Biden administration’s reckless vetting failures that allowed a trained Afghan operative to settle in America. The New York Post editorial board declared the attack proof that the “insane proliferation of programs” with inconsistent standards must end, insisting any future system must put American safety and interests first.

New York City Islamo-socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani sparked fury by issuing a statement saying Specialist Sarah Beckstrom merely “passed,” without mentioning the Afghan suspect (or the Islamist nature of the murder). Conservatives accused him of deliberately whitewashing Islamic terrorism.

U.S. authorities think that 'shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal was already living in Washington state when he became radicalised.'

The establishment media’s predictable reflex kicked in immediately after the cold-blooded murder of two National Guard soldiers outside a Washington, D.C. recruiting center: blame the guns, blame “mental health,” blame anything except the obvious.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, brought to the United States on a special immigrant visa after working with U.S. forces, did not snap because he was “depressed” or “lonely.” He flew across the country from Washington State, rented a car, and executed a premeditated ambush—shooting both Guardsmen in the back while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Law enforcement sources confirm he left behind a manifesto praising the Islamic State and expressing desire for jihad.

Yet within hours, corporate outlets floated the “tragic but mentally ill loner” narrative, citing anonymous “friends” who said Lakanwal had seemed “sad” lately. The same playbook used after Fort Hood, San Bernardino, Orlando, and every other jihadist attack on American soil: deny the ideological and religious motive until the ISIS pledge video leaks—then memory-hole the story entirely.

This wasn’t a spontaneous act of despair. It was an act of war by an enemy combatant who exploited America’s generosity, entered under a refugee pipeline sold to the public as a moral necessity, and then turned on the country that gave him sanctuary.

The Biden-Harris open-border policies and the Obama-era evacuation free-for-all didn’t just let in vulnerable women and children. They let in Rahmanullah Lakanwal—and he came to kill Americans.

Immigration crackdown

In direct response:

• USCIS halted all Afghan immigration applications and asylum processing pending a full security review.
• The administration announced re-examination of green cards issued to nationals of 19 designated high-risk countries.
• President Trump declared a forthcoming “permanent pause” on migration from Third World nations and pledged mass deportation of individuals deemed incompatible with American values or security.

See also

• 2025 Capital Jewish Museum shooting
• List of Islamic terrorist attacks in the United States