The Afghan immigrant suspected in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House in Washington, D.C., was radicalized after arriving in the United States, U.S. authorities said, while his motive remains unclear.
“We are still reviewing all the information, and we will allow the FBI and the Justice Department to release any new information,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome said in an NBC interview. “However, we will say that we believe he was radicalized after he came to this country.”
She added, “We believe that it came through his connections in his community and in the state, and we will continue to talk to those who interacted with him, as well as members of his family.”
The suspect in this case, Ramanullah Lakanwal (29), is a former local soldier who cooperated with US intelligence during the US war in Afghanistan. He escaped to the US in 2021 when US troops withdrew from Afghanistan and has been living with his family in Washington state in the northwestern US.
Minister Nom’s remarks are interpreted as an argument that Lakanwal’s political leanings turned to extremism after entering the US due to the strong Democratic political environment in Washington state and the civic groups that helped him settle in, which led to this incident. Minister Nom also blamed the former Joe Biden administration for the fact that Lakanwal’s asylum application was approved in April of this year, after the second Trump administration took office.
“We have to remember that when they abandoned Afghanistan, the Biden administration brought people onto planes and into the US without background checks,” he said.
“Background checks are done when the person in question enters the country. And Joe Biden did not vet them at all.”
He also emphasized, “His asylum application was initiated under the Biden administration, and it was processed based on information provided by Biden when he was president,” and “This is the Biden administration’s responsibility.”
Minister Nom’s position largely aligns with President Donald Trump’s view that the Biden administration is responsible for and responsible for this incident.
President Trump also wrote on his social media platform, TruthSocial, that “Crooked Joe Biden, (Biden Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro) Mayorkas, and ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris have truly ruined our country by allowing anyone and everyone to come in with absolutely no vetting or verification.
“Minister Nom also said, “One thing no one has mentioned yet is that Biden has left us with 1.5 million asylum applications that are not being processed. They must be vetted according to our standards in place under President Trump. If they are not guaranteed to be in our country, they will be immediately deported.”