An Afghan migrant gunned down a National Guardswoman on a Washington street last week, killing her in cold blood and wounding her partner. He now stands accused of brutal murder—and he has the gall to plead not guilty.
The suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, arrived in the United States under President Biden’s 2021 Afghan evacuation. He was granted asylum in April despite glaring gaps in our vetting process.
Staff Sergeant Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was sworn in less than 24 hours before she was shot. She volunteered her holiday shift so her comrades could see their families. She died the next day.
Corporal Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in serious but improving condition after taking a round to the abdomen. His resilience is a tribute to American grit.
During a virtual hearing from his hospital bed, Lakanwal entered a not-guilty plea to charges of murder, assault with intent to kill and firearm offenses. A judge rightly denied him bond.
Eyewitnesses report that Lakanwal shouted “Allahu akbar!” as he emptied his magazine. He only stopped when bystanders tackled him while he tried to reload.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey labeled the attack “an absolute outrage” and praised the Guard’s swift response. President Trump spoke directly with the wounded soldier’s family and vowed justice.
This atrocity exposes the fatal flaws in Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome.” More than 77,000 Afghan nationals were airlifted in 2021. Many arrived with minimal background checks and no ongoing monitoring.
Our border is under siege. If we can’t properly vet a few thousand evacuees, how can we secure hundreds of thousands at our southern frontier? Criminals and extremists will exploit any weakness.
Republicans demand immediate reforms:
• Freeze all pending Afghan and broader asylum claims.
• Reinstate rigorous vetting for every entrant, including biometric and adversarial interviews.
• Redirect resources to secure our southern border and finish construction of the wall.
America owes its servicemen and women a basic promise: we will defend them as fiercely as they defend us. We cannot allow ideological vanity or bureaucratic incompetence to place patriots on the front lines unprotected.
The men and women in uniform deserve our absolute certainty that when they stand watch, our nation stands with them—not with the legal loopholes that let murderers walk free.
