WASHINGTON — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House, killing one of them, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges in a new indictment that make him eligible for a possible death sentence if he is convicted.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was arraigned on 17 counts, including first-degree murder, in the new indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Washington. Lakanwal originally pleaded not guilty in January to nine charges in the November 2025 shooting that killed Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.
Before the Justice Department announces whether it will seek the death penalty against Lakanwal, his defense attorneys can meet with prosecutors and present any evidence that they believe weighs against a death sentence.
Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard for the federal law-enforcement surge that began in August in Washington, D.C., at the direction of President Donald Trump.
Lakanwal is accused of driving to the nation’s capital from Bellingham, Washington, while in possession of a stolen firearm and ambushing the two Guard members outside a subway station three blocks from the White House.
Another National Guard member heard gunshots and saw Beckstrom and Wolfe fall to the ground as Lakanwal fired a gun and screamed, “Allahu Akbar!” according to a police report.
Lakanwal, who was shot during the confrontation, was seated in a wheelchair during his arraignment on Tuesday. He didn’t speak during the hearing; one of his attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country. Lakanwal worked with the American government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force” in Kandahar, Afghanistan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has said.
Lakanwal is due back in court Sept. 16. A trial date for his case hasn’t been scheduled yet.
