Officials suspect that the Afghan immigrant charged with attacking National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week became radicalized after he arrived in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday.
Law enforcement has identified Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, as the individual responsible for the shooting that took place near the White House on Wednesday, resulting in the death of one National Guard member and the critical injury of another, Fox News reported.
“We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC News. “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members.”
She noted further that U.S. authorities have received “some participation” from people who knew Lakanwal.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. legally in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program initiated by the Biden administration to evacuate and resettle Afghan refugees following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
Noem stated that while asylum was officially granted to Lakanwal during the Trump administration in April, the vetting process occurred under the Biden administration. She criticized what she viewed as inadequate screening of Afghans and other foreign nationals during President Joe Biden’s term.
“When this abandonment of Afghanistan happened, the Biden administration put people on airplanes [and] brought them to the United States without vetting them,” Noem said. “They brought them into our country and then said they would vet them afterward.”
“All of that vetting information was collected by Joe Biden’s administration,” she added. “Joe Biden completely did not vet any of these individuals.”
According to Noem, President Donald Trump has implemented measures to enhance the vetting process for incoming immigrants. These measures include reviewing social media activity and checking the individuals with whom they interact.
After the deadly attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., on Thanksgiving Eve, Trump also announced that his administration would impose additional restrictions on migrants seeking to enter the United States. This includes a halt on all immigration from what he referred to as “Third World Countries.”
“The President is absolutely determined to stop all processes at this point in time from third-world countries until we can have a thorough opportunity to go through these individuals,” Noem said.
After the attack by Lakanwal, which left one Guard member dead and another fighting for his life, and the arrest of another Afghan national on charges of making terroristic threats, a video resurfaced from last year of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) refusing to condemn chants of “Death To America” in her district.
On April 5, 2024 demonstrators gathered in Dearborn, Michigan, to mark the International Day of Al-Quds, an annual rally held in support of Palestine on the last Friday of Ramadan.
The protest took place outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Michigan Avenue.
According to The Detroit News, some attendees chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel” in Arabic during the event.
Fox Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn approached Tlaib on Thursday inside the Capitol Hill complex and asked, “At a rally in your district people were chanting ‘death to America,’ do you condemn?”
Tlaib replied, “I do not talk to Fox News.”
When asked again whether she condemned the chanting, Tlaib said, “I don’t talk to people that use racist tropes.”
She later added, “Using racist tropes towards my community is what Fox News is about and I don’t talk to Fox News.”
Vaughn then asked, “Is chanting death to America racist?” prompting Tlaib to respond, “I’m talking about your guys’ racist tropes. You guys know exactly what you do. I know you’re Islamophobic.”
