Unpacking a Troubling Journey to Violence

Feds probe potential radicalization of Afghan suspect in DC National Guard shooting

Tragedy struck near the White House on Thanksgiving eve, shaking the nation’s capital with a brutal act of violence that claimed a young soldier’s life.

In a shocking ambush, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, is accused of shooting two National Guard members, killing Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both from West Virginia, and federal investigators scramble to uncover what drove him to this horrific, radical act after years in the U.S., as the New York Post reports.

Lakanwal first arrived in the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program, designed to resettle Afghans following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. He passed initial security vetting upon entry, with no criminal history to raise red flags.

Later, in April of this year, under the Trump administration, Lakanwal was granted asylum after a second security review found no issues. It’s a bitter pill to swallow—how could someone who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan’s brutal “Zero Unit” paramilitary force slip through such scrutiny? The system seems blind to future intent, no matter how many checks are in place.

Investigators are now digging into Lakanwal’s four years stateside, trying to piece together what radicalized him after his arrival. Authorities note he drove 3,000 miles from Bellingham, Wash., to commit this attack near the White House, shouting “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire, per a police report.

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What flipped the switch in a man once deemed safe? He settled in Washington State where there are a lot of radicals and Antifa. There is also the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club: This armed, left-wing group operates in Washington and is associated with the broader Antifa movement, providing firearms training and security at rallies...anti ICE, anti everything.

My guess--he ran into Antifa or some other radical group that tends to hold anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-racist, and anti-state views, that subscribes to a varied range of left-wing ideologies. It's very possible he got radicalized.