WASHINGTON — An Afghan national accused of ambushing two National Guard soldiers near the White House — killing one and seriously wounding the other — appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to charges in a new federal indictment that could put him on death row if convicted.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal was arraigned on 17 counts, including first-degree murder, after a federal grand jury in Washington handed up the new indictment. He had originally entered a not guilty plea in January to nine charges related to the November 2025 shooting that claimed the life of Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and left Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe critically injured.
Before the Justice Department decides whether to pursue the death penalty, Lakanwal’s defense team will have the opportunity to meet with prosecutors and present any mitigating evidence they believe should weigh against such a sentence.
Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were members of the West Virginia National Guard serving as part of a federal law-enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., that began in August under orders from President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors allege that Lakanwal drove from Bellingham, Washington, to the nation’s capital while carrying a stolen firearm, then ambushed the two soldiers outside a subway station just three blocks from the White House.
According to a police report, another Guard member nearby heard the gunshots and watched as Beckstrom and Wolfe fell to the ground while Lakanwal fired his weapon and shouted, “Allahu Akbar!”
Lakanwal, who sustained a gunshot wound during the incident, appeared in a wheelchair at Tuesday’s arraignment. He remained silent throughout the proceedings, with one of his attorneys entering the not guilty plea on his behalf.
Lakanwal came to the United States in 2021 through a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans following the U.S. military withdrawal from that country. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has stated that Lakanwal previously worked with the American government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force” in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Lakanwal is scheduled to return to court on September 16. No trial date has been set in the case.
