Feds still undecided on death penalty for National Guard shooting suspect

WASHINGTON (CN) — The man suspected of ambushing two National Guard members patrolling near the White House on Nov. 26, 2025, and killing one of them, pleaded not guilty in federal court to a set of first-degree murder, assault and firearm charges Wednesday.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who prosecutors say drove across the country from the state of Washington to D.C. for a “targeted” strike, faces a nine-count indictment including federal and local charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He previously pleaded not guilty to three charges in D.C. Superior Court on Dec. 2, 2025.

The new indictment, filed on Jan. 9, adds the federal charge for transporting a firearm over state lines with the intent to commit a felony under 18 U.S. Code Section 924(b), which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Lakanwal otherwise faces life imprisonment for the remaining eight counts of premeditated first-degree murder, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. Those charges were brought under the D.C. Code.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Tortorice whether the government was considering pursuing the death penalty, pointing out that no charge carries the death penalty with it.

While U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi previously indicated she would push for the death penalty, Tortorice said the prosecution did not have a concrete plan to pursue it, but suggested it was on the table and he could confirm or deny by the next status conference scheduled for May 6.

The lack of commitment marks an apparent reversal from the government’s stated purpose of transferring the case to federal court, as prosecutors could not pursue the death penalty in D.C. Superior with charges under the D.C. Code.

On Dec. 24, 2025, Pirro said in a statement that the transfer “ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here.”

Prosecutors would need to file a superseding indictment including a death-eligible charge, the Barack Obama appointee said, indicating he would prefer an answer soon to avoid “a major course correction” in the case months down the road.

Lakanwal appeared in court for the first time, represented by federal public defender Michelle Peterson and speaking through an interpreter.

The two National Guard members, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, were deployed to the nation’s capital as part of President Donald Trump’s “crime emergency” declared on Aug. 11, 2025. Beckstrom died from her injuries on Nov. 27, 2025.

Wolfe has since been released from the hospital and has moved into rehabilitation. He posted for the first time on Facebook Tuesday, thanking people for their “prayers and support."

“I’m grateful to be alive,” Wolfe said. “It’s all been overwhelming and I’m trying still and determined. It’s been hard to go through something like this.”

Since last August, over 2,200 troops from the D.C. National Guard and the National Guards of South Carolina, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and South Dakota have patrolled the streets.

National Guard troops have largely engaged in “presence patrols” and “high-visibility missions” patrolling public spaces near the National Mall, standing guard within and at the entrances of metro stations, participating in “beautification” projects and supporting local Metropolitan police.

Beckstrom and Wolfe were patrolling near the entrance to the Farragut West metro station around 2 p.m. EST when they were attacked.

In Lakanwal’s federal case, FBI Special Agent Ahmad Hassan wrote in an affidavit that the suspect used a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver in the shooting that had been legally purchased in 2007 by another individual, J.D., in Bellevue, Washington.

On Oct. 15, 2025, Lakanwal reached out to an individual referred as W-1 asking him to “find this stuff for me,” with photos of an AR-15, a “Draco,” or compact AK-47 and a pistol.

According to Hassan, Lakanwal requested the weapons for protection while working as an Uber driver, but W-1 cited the state’s strict gun laws and said he couldn’t.

Lakanwal’s last ride as a driver was in May 2025 and he had been unemployed for two months prior to the November 2025 shooting, according to investigators’ interviews with his family. He worked with the CIA for more than a decade in Afghanistan before resettling in the U.S. in 2021 under a Biden administration program.

He ultimately obtained the revolver from W-1 on Nov. 14, 2025, who told investigators the weapon was stolen from J.D.’s home in 2023 and only gave it to Lakanwal because he believed it was just for protection. The revolver was loaded with five rounds, leading Lakanwal to purchase additional ammunition in Bellingham.

On Nov. 15, 2025, Lakanwal searched “The White House” on Google Maps, then began a weeklong drive across the country the next day.

The shooting came just six days after a federal judge ruled that the National Guard’s deployment in Washington was illegal, an order that would have ended the troops’ street presence within days.

However, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb stayed enforcement of the order until Dec. 11, 2025, to avoid potential chaos as the Trump administration appealed to the D.C. Circuit.

On Dec. 17, 2025, the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that the National Guard can remain deployed in the nation’s capital for the time being, freezing Cobb’s preliminary injunction. It has yet to schedule further arguments on the merits in the case, with the current term scheduled through the end of March.

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