A 29-year-old man accused of opening fire on two National Guard members near the White House entered a not guilty plea Tuesday to charges of murder and assault during his first court appearance, which was conducted by video from a hospital bed. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who was also wounded in the incident, faces multiple felony charges stemming from the Nov. 26 attack that left 20-year-old Spc. Sarah Beckstrom dead and seriously injured 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. The plea was entered by his attorney during a brief hearing in Washington, D.C., as the suspect remains hospitalized under guard. Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed as part of a large National Guard presence supporting a federal law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital, an operation that has brought thousands of agents and troops into the city since August.
Prosecutors described the shooting as a calculated, ambush-style attack and said investigators are still working to determine a motive. During the hearing, a government attorney told the court the suspect appeared to have traveled through parts of the city before approaching the troops and opening fire without warning. The magistrate judge ordered him held without release, citing the extreme danger posed by the attack and the fear it caused among both service members and the public. The rare and deadly assault on National Guard troops on U.S. soil has intensified legal challenges and public debate surrounding the expanded domestic deployment of military forces. Authorities confirmed the suspect entered the United States in 2021 during the evacuation of Afghan nationals following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. His asylum application, initially filed years earlier, was ultimately approved more recently. President Trump labeled the shooting a terrorist attack and sharply criticized prior immigration policies, renewing calls for sweeping restrictions on migration and large-scale deportations as the investigation continues.