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Tag: Operation Allies Welcome

  • Trump announces death of National Guard member after shooting, ramps up scrutiny of refugees

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    President Donald Trump announced the death of one National Guard member on Thanksgiving and said another is still “fighting for his life.” Police say both soldiers were shot while on patrol down the street from the White House on Wednesday. Trump announced the death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old from West Virginia, during a call with troops on Thursday night. The White House says the president spoke with Beckstrom’s parents later that evening.”She was savagely attacked. She’s dead, not with us. An incredible person, outstanding in every single way, in every department. It’s horrible,” Trump said on the call with troops. The charges against the alleged shooter are now expected to be upgraded to first-degree murder. The Justice Department has also suggested that it will seek the death penalty. “The death penalty is back,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted Thursday night. FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is also being investigated as an act of terrorism. Authorities say Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot in a targeted attack, although a motive has not been revealed. The alleged shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan. “What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across the country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at a press conference on Thursday morning.The Associated Press reports that Lakanwal was approved for asylum under the Trump administration, but officials say he first entered the country through a Biden administration resettlement program after the U.S. withdrew from the war in Afghanistan. Before arriving in America, Lakanwal worked with the CIA, according to John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director. Ratcliffe said the relationship ended shortly after the evacuation of U.S. service members.”We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America,” FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday. Asked about the CIA connection and the screening procedures involved with that, President Trump continued to insist that the alleged shooter entered the U.S. unvetted.”He went nuts,” Trump said. “It happens too often with these people.”In a statement, the group #AfghanEvac, which assists with the resettlement process, said Afghan immigrants and wartime allies “undergo some of the most extensive security vetting of any population entering the country.” “This individual’s isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community,” #AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver said. After the shooting, Trump said his administration would be reviewing every Afghan who entered the country under the Biden administration. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has indefinitely paused processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals, “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.” On Thursday, USCIS also said there would be “a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” Additionally, the agency released new guidance outlining new vetting standards for prospective immigrants from “19 high-risk countries.”Meanwhile, Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric in a social media post just before midnight Thursday, promising to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.”Trump said he would terminate what he described as illegal admissions under the Biden administration, end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens, and “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.” “HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long,” Trump said.

    WASHINGTON —

    President Donald Trump announced the death of one National Guard member on Thanksgiving and said another is still “fighting for his life.” Police say both soldiers were shot while on patrol down the street from the White House on Wednesday.

    Trump announced the death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old from West Virginia, during a call with troops on Thursday night. The White House says the president spoke with Beckstrom’s parents later that evening.

    “She was savagely attacked. She’s dead, not with us. An incredible person, outstanding in every single way, in every department. It’s horrible,” Trump said on the call with troops.

    The charges against the alleged shooter are now expected to be upgraded to first-degree murder. The Justice Department has also suggested that it will seek the death penalty.

    “The death penalty is back,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted Thursday night.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is also being investigated as an act of terrorism.

    Authorities say Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot in a targeted attack, although a motive has not been revealed.

    The alleged shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan.

    “What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across the country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at a press conference on Thursday morning.

    The Associated Press reports that Lakanwal was approved for asylum under the Trump administration, but officials say he first entered the country through a Biden administration resettlement program after the U.S. withdrew from the war in Afghanistan.

    Before arriving in America, Lakanwal worked with the CIA, according to John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director. Ratcliffe said the relationship ended shortly after the evacuation of U.S. service members.

    “We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America,” FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday.

    Asked about the CIA connection and the screening procedures involved with that, President Trump continued to insist that the alleged shooter entered the U.S. unvetted.

    “He went nuts,” Trump said. “It happens too often with these people.”

    In a statement, the group #AfghanEvac, which assists with the resettlement process, said Afghan immigrants and wartime allies “undergo some of the most extensive security vetting of any population entering the country.”

    “This individual’s isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community,” #AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver said.

    After the shooting, Trump said his administration would be reviewing every Afghan who entered the country under the Biden administration. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has indefinitely paused processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals, “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”

    On Thursday, USCIS also said there would be “a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” Additionally, the agency released new guidance outlining new vetting standards for prospective immigrants from “19 high-risk countries.”

    Meanwhile, Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric in a social media post just before midnight Thursday, promising to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.”

    Trump said he would terminate what he described as illegal admissions under the Biden administration, end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens, and “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”

    “HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long,” Trump said.

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  • National Guard members shot in DC identified; shooting investigated as terrorism

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    An Afghan national has been accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence at a time when the presence of troops in the nation’s capital and other cities around the country has become a political flashpoint.Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said at a Thursday news briefing that the guard members shot were Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. The guard members were hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday afternoon’s shooting.Pirro said that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove across the country to launch an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. The suspect currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro said that “it’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.The charges could be upgraded, Pirro said, adding, “We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”The rare shooting of National Guard members on American soil, on the day before Thanksgiving, comes amid court fights and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington.Video below: Trump condemned National Guard shooting as ‘heinous assault’The suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.Attack being investigated as terrorist actFBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Agents have served a series of search warrants, with Patel calling it a “coast-to-coast investigation.”Pirro said: “We have been in constant contact with their families and have provided them with every resource needed during this difficult time.”Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser interpreted the shooting as a direct assault on America itself, rather than specifically on Trump’s policies.“Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington, D.C., to attack America,” Bower said. “That person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”Suspect worked with CIA during Afghanistan WarThe 29-year-old suspect, an Afghan national, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and his allies, congressional Republicans and some government watchdogs over allegations of gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions, even as advocates say it offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.Lakamal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.Prior to his 2021 arrival in the United States, the suspect worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director, said in a statement. He did not specify what work Lakamal did, but said the relationship “ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation” of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.Kandahar in southern Afghanistan is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary officers in the war.Wednesday night, in a video message released on social media, President Donald Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under the Biden administration.“If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he said, adding that the shooting was “a crime against our entire nation.”Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant D.C. police chief, said on Wednesday that investigators had no information on a motive. He said the assailant “came around the corner” and immediately started firing at the troops, citing video reviewed by investigators.Troops held down the shooterThe shooting happened roughly two blocks northwest of the White House near a metro station. Hearing gunfire, other troops in the area ran over and held down the gunman after he was shot, Carroll said. “It appears to be a lone gunman that raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard,” Carroll said, adding that it was not clear whether one of the guard members or a law enforcement officer shot the suspect.“At this point, we have no other suspects,” Carroll said at a news conference.At least one of the guard members exchanged gunfire with the shooter, said another law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders performing CPR on one of the troops and treating the other on a sidewalk covered in broken glass.

    WASHINGTON —

    An Afghan national has been accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence at a time when the presence of troops in the nation’s capital and other cities around the country has become a political flashpoint.

    Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said at a Thursday news briefing that the guard members shot were Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. The guard members were hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday afternoon’s shooting.

    Pirro said that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, drove across the country to launch an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. The suspect currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro said that “it’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.

    The charges could be upgraded, Pirro said, adding, “We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”

    The rare shooting of National Guard members on American soil, on the day before Thanksgiving, comes amid court fights and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.

    The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington.

    Video below: Trump condemned National Guard shooting as ‘heinous assault’

    The suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

    Attack being investigated as terrorist act

    FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Agents have served a series of search warrants, with Patel calling it a “coast-to-coast investigation.”

    Pirro said: “We have been in constant contact with their families and have provided them with every resource needed during this difficult time.”

    Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser interpreted the shooting as a direct assault on America itself, rather than specifically on Trump’s policies.

    “Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington, D.C., to attack America,” Bower said. “That person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

    Suspect worked with CIA during Afghanistan War

    The 29-year-old suspect, an Afghan national, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.

    The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and his allies, congressional Republicans and some government watchdogs over allegations of gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions, even as advocates say it offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

    Lakamal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.

    Prior to his 2021 arrival in the United States, the suspect worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” John Ratcliffe, the spy agency’s director, said in a statement. He did not specify what work Lakamal did, but said the relationship “ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation” of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.

    Kandahar in southern Afghanistan is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary officers in the war.

    Wednesday night, in a video message released on social media, President Donald Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under the Biden administration.

    “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he said, adding that the shooting was “a crime against our entire nation.”

    Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant D.C. police chief, said on Wednesday that investigators had no information on a motive. He said the assailant “came around the corner” and immediately started firing at the troops, citing video reviewed by investigators.

    Troops held down the shooter

    The shooting happened roughly two blocks northwest of the White House near a metro station. Hearing gunfire, other troops in the area ran over and held down the gunman after he was shot, Carroll said.

    “It appears to be a lone gunman that raised a firearm and ambushed these members of the National Guard,” Carroll said, adding that it was not clear whether one of the guard members or a law enforcement officer shot the suspect.

    “At this point, we have no other suspects,” Carroll said at a news conference.

    At least one of the guard members exchanged gunfire with the shooter, said another law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders performing CPR on one of the troops and treating the other on a sidewalk covered in broken glass.

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