WASHINGTON (AP) — A person accused of capturing two Nationwide Guard troops close to the White Home has been charged in a grievance with federal firearms costs in reference to the ambush on November 26 that fatally wounded one of many West Virginia Nationwide Guard members and significantly injured the second.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit an offense punishable for a couple of yr. He has additionally been charged federally with transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce.
“The switch of this case from Superior Courtroom to District Courtroom ensures that we will undertake the intense, deliberate, and weighty evaluation required to find out if the demise penalty is suitable right here,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Jeanine Pirro. “Sarah Beckstrom was simply 20 years previous when she was killed and her mother and father are actually pressured to endure the vacation season with out their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived however has an extended street forward in his restoration.”
Lakanwal stays charged with first-degree homicide, assault with intent to kill and unlawful possession of a firearm within the capturing that killed Beckstrom, 20, and wounded Wolfe, 24, in violation of D.C. code. Lakanwal, who was shot in the course of the encounter, has pleaded not responsible to the D.C. costs.
There isn’t a demise penalty in D.C. Superior Courtroom.
Heather Diehl by way of Getty Pictures
Beckstrom and Wolfe had been deployed with the West Virginia Nationwide Guard for President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge within the nation’s capital, which has flooded the town with federal brokers and troops since August. Lakanwal is accused of driving from Bellingham, Washington to Washington, D.C. whereas in possession of a stolen firearm and ambushing the 2 Guard members exterior a subway station three blocks from the White Home.
An Afghan nationwide, Laknawal labored with the American authorities, together with the CIA, “as a member of a companion pressure” in Kandahar, Afghanistan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe mentioned.
Lakanwal, 29, entered the US in 2021 via Operation Allies Welcome, officers mentioned. That Biden administration program evacuated and resettled tens of hundreds of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the nation.
Lakanwal’s lawyer was not instantly obtainable for remark.