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by WILL FOLKS
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The premeditated murder of one American soldier – and wounding of another – by an Afghan national during a terror attack in Washington, D.C. has sparked renewed outrage about the United States’ failed open borders policies and the unintended consequences of its foreign interventionism.
The bloody ambush has also raised renewed concerns about the rhetoric of extremist violence emanating from the left end of the American political spectrum…
The attack occurred at approximately 2:15 p.m. EST on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) near the Farragut West metro station in our nation’s capital – just two blocks from the White House. Armed with a .357 Magnum handgun, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal – a Pashtun from the Khost Province in Western Afghanistan – ambushed 20-year-old specialist Sarah Beckstrom of Webster Springs, West Virginia at a bus stop, shooting her repeatedly in the head. A second member of the West Virginia National Guard, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe of Martinsburg, W.V., was critically wounded during the ambush.
Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving of her wounds.
Wolfe was “in very bad shape” and “fighting for his life,” according to U.S. president Donald Trump – who addressed the attack extensively on his Truth Social platform (here and here).
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Trump railed against America for being “just plain STUPID” on the issue of immigration, and vowed to launch a wave of “reverse migration” in response to the shooting.
“The official United States foreign population stands at 53 million people,” Trump wrote. “Most of (them) are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels. They and their children are supported through massive payments from Patriotic American Citizens who, because of their beautiful hearts, do not want to openly complain or cause trouble in any way, shape, or form. They put up with what has happened to our Country, but it’s eating them alive to do so!”
“Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,” he added, vowing to “permanently pause migration” from all third world nations and to “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States.”
Trump further promise to “end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
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“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process,” Trump said, referring to executive decisions made on behalf of former U.S. president Joe Biden.
Lakanwal is one of more than 75,000 Afghan nationals allowed into the United States between July 2021 and March 2022 as part of Operation Allies Welcome – Biden’s refugee resettlement accompanying our nation’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“They let him in!” Trump exclaimed in response to a reported who questioned his blaming of the Biden administration, saying Lakanwal “came in on a plane – along with thousands of other people (who) shouldn’t be here.”
Prior to his arrival in America, Lakanwal was part of an Afghan “zero unit” – or death squad – supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This unit was tasked with assassinating suspected members of the Taliban, the radical Islamic political and military organization which controlled the country prior to the 2001 U.S.-led invasion – and which reclaimed control of Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul in August 2021.
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Lakanwal applied for asylum last December and his request was granted on April 23, 2025. Prior to the attack, he was residing in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and five children.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is leading a “coast-to-coast investigation” into the attack, per its director Kash Patel. Charges filed against Lakanwal will be handled by the office of U.S. attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of the National Guard — a hero who volunteered to serve DC on Thanksgiving for people she never met and gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Pirro wrote on X. “May she rest in peace. It is now time to avenge her death and secure justice.”
Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C. in August 2025 and deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the capital. This deployment was initially set to expire on Sunday (November 30, 2025), but was recently extended through February 2026.
In the aftermath of the attack, an additional 500 National Guard troops were deployed to the nation’s capital.
Shockingly, many on the left have implied Trump or the Guard are to blame for the terrorist attack.
‘Why wasn‘t the president‘s first thought, ‘Wow, you know, maybe I should reconsider deploying military troops in the nation‘s capital or in any city?’” liberal congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told CNN. “The president looks everywhere except inward to blame his own policies. We need to make sure that we don‘t have our military deployed in our cities, doing — handling law enforcement responsibilities.”
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For those of you new to FITSNews, our media outlet has never breathed fire on the issue of immigration – nor are we acolytes for Trump. We believe in responsible immigration, and have always assessed Trump on an issue-by-issue basis – never hesitating to call him out when we believe he is wrong.
Having said that, as we noted nearly a decade ago (days after Trump took office the first time) – America’s lifeboat is full.
“A nation deep in debt and unable to provide for its own citizens should not permit its borders to remain perpetually open to non-citizens,” we noted at the time. “Like it or not, there is no room. And there is no money.”
We also noted it was America’s “ill-conceived global interventionism” fueling refugee crises back then… as it continues to do now.
What was past was prologue… yet our nation still cannot seem to learn its lesson.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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4 comments
“renewed concerns about the rhetoric of extremist violence emanating from the left end of the American political spectrum” Even for Will this is some real “alternate facts” BS that completely ignores reality.
“nor are we acolytes for Trump.”
Bullshit. You are acolytes for Trump by omission. You ignore *everything* about Trump except the deficit. If Biden had done even a fraction of the shit Trump had you would have blahg post after blahg post about it.
The guard didn’t need to be in DC, or anywhere else. So yes, this young woman would not have been there if not for Trump trying to be the authoritarian daddy that MAGA craves due to their own daddy issues.
Are you ok with blasting fishing boats out of the water with no proof or due process on the word of an alcoholic Sec of “War” and a president in the throes of dementia? Ready for a land strike in Venezuela?
What will be a bridge too far for “libertarian” Will Folks?
Bro, lighten up and enjoy the holidays, you don’t have to be a douche everyday of the week
Right-wing violence has always been greater than left-wing violence in the US. Everyone knows this. Even the right-wing Cato Institute admitted it. Trump has doubled down on this. He threatens people all the time. Calls them names. He is a bully and encourages his followers to be violent toward those with whom they disagree. The largest incidence of political violence in my lifetime was January 6, when we were just lucky that dozens of government officials were not killed at Trump’s order. That was thanks to the efforts of Capitol police who have been treated like dirt since, including the pardoning of the people who attacked the, beat them with sticks and flag poles, and sprayed them with mace and bear spray, while threatening to kill them.