Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national charged in connection with the November 26, 2025, Washington, DC, National Guard shooting, pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday.
KRCR reported that Lakanwal faces nine federal charges and pleaded not guilty to all of them.
FOX News noted that Lakanwal is accused of “shooting West Virginia National Guard Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.” Twenty-year-old Beckstrom died from her wounds and 24-year-old Wolfe is still hospitalized.
Prosecutors made clear that the death penalty has not been ruled out, “[although] none of the charges Lakanwal is facing are death penalty-eligible.” But additional charges may be added and those could involve the death penalty.
Judge Amit Mehta asked prosecutors to try to have any additional charges decided upon by the May 6, 2026, status conference.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.