Federal prosecutors are determining if Rahmanullah Lakanwal will face the death penalty if convicted of the murder of a National Guard specialist. The incident involved the shooting of two National Guard members near Farragut Square in Washington last year.
Law enforcement responded following the shooting near Farragut Square in Washington.
On Tuesday, federal murder charges were announced against Lakanwal, who allegedly opened fire on National Guard members in Washington last year. This raises the possibility of a death penalty pursuit if convicted. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty to both previous and new charges presented by a federal grand jury.
Initially charged under D.C. law, which abolished the death penalty in 1981, Lakanwal faced first-degree murder charges. During a hearing, a Justice Department lawyer revealed that the determination process for pursuing the death penalty was underway, involving evidence review and consultation with the U.S. attorney’s office. The timeline for this decision remains uncertain. The lawyer compared this case to Elias Rodriguez’s, who was accused of killing two Israeli embassy staff members last year, a case where the death penalty was pursued by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national, aided U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan as part of a C.I.A.-backed unit and entered the U.S. in 2021 under an asylum program. He faces charges of murdering Sarah Beckstrom, a National Guard specialist in Washington last year. Additionally, Lakanwal is accused of shooting and attempting to murder Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and trying to kill two other Guard members identified by initials, who subdued him.
Both Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed from the West Virginia National Guard as part of President Trump’s law enforcement surge launched last August. Prosecutors announced the review of ‘hundreds of hours’ of body and surveillance camera footage as part of the case. Judge Mehta has scheduled the next court meeting for Sept. 16.
Lakanwal attended the hearing in a wheelchair, wearing an orange jumpsuit, and used a Pashto interpreter.