The day Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly shot two members of the National Guard in Washington D.C., President Trump labeled the purported incident as an “act of terror” and the following evening, as he announced the death of one of the victims, he stated twice that it was a “terrorist attack.”[1] Earlier that Thanksgiving day Kash Patel, as FBI Director, provided an update on the case stressing that it was an “ongoing investigation of terrorism. Make no mistake about it.”[2] Meanwhile, a press release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), referring to Lakanwal as “the suspect,” described him as a “terrorist.”[3]
Without minimizing such an atrocious act, which, like any murder, is horrendous, the categorization of terrorism is questionable and likely erroneous. As emphasized in previous blogs on this site (dated 09/05/25 and 10/25/25), terrorist acts, by definition, require a strategic political or religious objective, unlike autogenic attacks that are spurred by internalized wounds (i.e. long-standing injuries, often illusionary). The difference, as underscored in those same articles, is more than esoteric in that it distinguishes the bases of differing societal maladies and, by so doing, isolates associated preventative as well as punitive measures. To date there has been no evidence of militancy as the impetus for the assault on the guard.
What makes this potentially erroneous categorization particularly insidious is the probable political motivation for the mis-characterization. Trump along with his political appointees, have accused the Biden administration of allowing Lakanwal into the country without proper scrutiny following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan as part of “Operation Allies Welcome”.[4] In fact, prior to exiting his homeland, Lakanwal was working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and had been doing so since 2011. His service included work with one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism units operated by the CIA. In that capacity he would have been vetted by intelligence operatives as well as the National Counterterrorism Center, long before his immigration to the United States.[5] He was evacuated by the U.S. military in 2021 after the fall of Kabul under the auspices of humanitarian parole.[6] His amnesty was granted in April of 2025, four months after Trump reassumed the presidency.[7] That status requires biometric checking, in-person interviews, as well as an assessment of individualized risk and eligibility under U.S. law. He also had a Special Immigrant Visa application under consideration and had received Chief of Mission (COM) approval, both of which normally require investigation by governmental agencies, including the CIA.[8]
Moreover, on the first day of his second term of his presidency Donald Trump signed an executive order to “ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.”[9] It mandated enhanced vetting and screening across agencies, directing that “[t]he Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall promptly … vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.”[10]
Lakanwal was recruited to do highly confidential and sensitive work for America’s top espionage agency almost fifteen years ago, then immigrated via military transport to the country, was granted amnesty, applied for a Visa, and was conferred COM status. The sequence took place across four presidential administrations under three distinct presidents, one of whom prioritized the assessment of people entering the country so highly that he acted to ensure rigorous scrutiny on the very first day of his second term in office. The prospect that Lakanwal was not properly vetted is not believable.[11]
It is more likely that he was thoroughly checked and terrorist leanings were simply not apparent. There is credible evidence, however, that after his arrival in America he struggled with his mental health and social isolation.[12] The emerging portrait, then, is one that conforms with a rampage assailant, not a militant. A neuro-psychological impairment, such as a mood disorder and paranoia (both displayed by Lakanwal) is a possible precursor to a rampage and a perception of anomia (also evident in Lakanwal’s behavior) is a pivotal point in the moral decline preceding an autogenic murder.[13] Another factor that may have contributed toward a predilection for violence could very well have been his traumatic exposure at a young age to the travesties of war.[14]
Just as important with regard to the perpetrator’s intent, is the fact that there has been no announcement – none whatsoever – of a demand, threat, or vengeful justification associated with the death of the National Guard personnel. Terrorism requires a proclamation of purpose. “Without the public knowing about the terrorists’ actions, there can be no generalized fear, and therefore no pressure for change…. Likewise, the longer term aims of terrorism, including provocation, communication, propaganda, and recruitment also need the terrorists’ message to be widely disseminated.”[15] Rampaging killers, too, usually express incentives for their violence, but, unlike radicals, the expressions are egocentric (focused solely on personal grudges), not on long term social aims and are not necessarily widely publicized.[16]
As the President considered outfitting the Capitol with the National Guard, the Department of Justice (DOJ) was warned “that troops were in a ‘heightened threat environment’ and that ‘nefarious threat actors engaging in grievance based violence, and those inspired by foreign terrorist organizations’ might view the mission ‘as a target of opportunity.’”[17] DOJ lawyers dismissed the warning as “speculative.”[18] That dismissal laid the groundwork for eventual orchestrated violence. However, when the murders occurred federal apologists, without evidence, opted to portray the probable slayer as a terrorist rather than a rampageous individual acting upon collected grievances. Until such time as his writings or oral statements become known it will remain impossible to know if Lakanwal harbored intentions associated with terrorism. Importantly, the fact that any communique has been so hard to uncover suggests that there was no plan for a public denouncement of an ideology or act and, as previously stated, such expressions are part and parcel of an ideological targeted attack.
Lest terrorist and rampage attacks be conflated as false equivalents with respect to national origin or ethnicity, it is necessary to take note of gruesome tallies for differing types of massacres. Between 1966 and 2024, there were 298 autogenic mass shootings in U.S. and of the shooters “255 were native-born and 43 were foreign-born,” placing the percentage of offenders from other countries at less that fifteen.[19] In contrast, during a shorter span of years (1975-2022), “219 foreign-born terrorists in the United States … killed 3,046 people.”[20] Even so, during that period (in 1995) the deadliest terrorist attack on in U.S. history (excluding the Al-Qaeda aerial assaults on September 11, 2001) was carried out in Oklahoma City, not by an immigrant, but by an American citizen.[21]
However, there are multiple incentives for Trump and his associates to mark Lakanwal (and others) as radicalized.
- It diverts criticism from militaristic police actions by justifying deployments as necessary because of the possibility of terror from invaders. Following the killings Trump immediately “directed an additional 500 troops to help protect … [the] capitol city.”[22] In conjunction, “The administration had also filed an emergency court order seeking to keep guard troops in the city after a federal judge … ordered their removal, pending appeal.”[23]
- It pardons the continuance of the aggressive administration of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that has fallen out of favor with the majority of Americans.[24] Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin proudly stated, “DHS has been going full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and criminal illegal aliens.”[25] As a result the number of warrantless searches, unnecessary arrests of peaceful residents, unlawful detentions, and abusive treatment by ICE agents will undoubtedly increase.[26] Defensive, but unapologetic, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson announced, “Despite an unprecedented number of legal challenges and unlawful rulings by lower courts, the arrests and deportations will continue.”[27]
- It camouflages the rationale for severe restrictions on immigration and amnesty by associating the constraints with obligatory safety requirements to offset terroristic efforts. Just one day after the fatal incident the following announcement was made: “In the wake of the shooting of two National Guard service members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday by an Afghan national, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance allowing for negative, country-specific factors to be considered when vetting aliens from 19 high-risk countries.”[28] Those nations are as follows: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.[29]
- It sets the stage for associating any act of performative violence, evidently terroristic or not, with threats to national security thus perpetuating the covers noted in the preceding bullets. That propagandistic strategy is already underway with the identification of Lakanwal as a foreign operative despite evidence to the contrary.
- It creates a climate of fear, hate, and paranoia that can be exploited to ensure that officials are not held accountable for constitutional violations associated with immigration policy or, for that matter, breaches of due process under a multitude of circumstances. On Thanksgiving Day in his national address, Trump alleged, “This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation. The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world from places that you don’t want to even know about. No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival.”[30]
Trump’s brand rests on the assertion that immigrants are a threat to American values and economic security. To compliment to his Thanksgiving speech the President posted on his social network site, Truth Social, “This refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America, something that did not exist after World War II (Failed schools, high crime, urban decay, overcrowded hospitals, housing shortages, and large deficits, etc.).”[31] Since announcing his initial candidacy he has dehumanized migrants by portraying them as rapists, disease ridden, drug smugglers, mentally ill, garbage, and sadistic criminals.[32] He has even charged that some are genetically predisposed to homicide. “‘[M]any of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States. You know now a murder, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now,’ he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.”[33] As an adjunct, Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, issued a tweet calling for “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. … WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”[34]
Biases toward groups are knitted and reinforced by three cognitive strands: a) what is believed to be the original reason or source of the bigotry, b) the latent manifest, and c) the presupposed perniciousness. The first is the prejudicial assumptions assigned to a set of people, that is the rationale for considering them malicious, primitive, slow witted, or deceitful. The second is the degree of preoccupation the bigot may keep for the group, whether it is peripheral to his or her consciousness or a mainstay in thought. The last references the level of danger attributable to the identified tribe.[35] A classification of terror instantly increases the severity that may be assigned to each thread. If that assignment is maintained, then migrants become recognized as inherently evil in that they are assumed to be calculating destructive measures that require constant vigilance as a defense against grave harm.
That is a characterization unsubstantiated by criminology, sociology, psychology, or empiricism. It is fashioned by resentment, distrust, and stereotypical caricatures.
[1] Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Sarah Brumfield, Siddiqullah Alizai, Elena Becatoros and Randy Herschaft,
“National Guard Shooting Suspect Faces Upgraded First-Degree Murder Charge,” PBS, posted November 28, 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/national-guard-shooting-suspect-faces-upgraded-first-degree-murder-charge;
Times of India, “Trump ‘Declares War’ in Call with US Troops; ‘Savage Monster Killed Nat’l Guard in Terror Attack,’” YouTube, broadcast November 27, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXawy6L6l7s; White House, “President Trump Delivers Remarks, Nov. 26, 2025,” WH.gov, https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-delivers-remarks-nov-26-2025/.
[2] Oneindia News, “U.S. Breaking: National Guard Shooting an Inside Job? Kash Patel Drops Bombshell on Afghan National,” YouTube, premiered November 27, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_tEIkUBr8.
[3] DHS Press Release, Terrorist Who Shot Two National Guard Members in D.C. Was Let into the Country by the Biden Administration’s Operation Allies Welcome Program,” posted November 26, 2025, https://www.dhs.gov/news /2025/11/26/terrorist-who-shot-two-national-guard-members-dc-was-let-country-biden.
[4] Kate Bartlett, “What Was ‘Operation Allies Welcome,’ Which Allowed Some Afghans Entry into the U.S.?” National Public Radio (NPR), posted November 27, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/11/27/nx-s1-5622991/afghan-refugee-program-national-guard-shooting-suspect; National Broadcasting Company (NBC), interview with Homeland Security Secretary on Meet the Press, “Kristi Noem Blames Biden Afghanistan ‘Abandonment’ for National Guard Shooting: Full Interview,” YouTube, posted November 30, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =KiRutk7ff2o; Siladitya Ray and Antonio Pequeño IV, “D.C. Shooting Suspect Was Granted Asylum in April: What We Know,” Forbes, posted November 27, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/11/27/dc-shooting-suspect-was-granted-asylum-in-april-what-we-know/.
[5] Dan De Luce and Rich Schapiro, “D.C. Shooting Suspect Was Part of a CIA-Backed Unit Whose Veterans Have Struggled in the U.S.,” NBC, posted November 30, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/afghan-accused-shooting-2-national-guard-members-was-part-cia-backed-u-rcna246320; Jennifer Griffin@JenGriffinFNC, X, posted November 27, 2025.
[6] Griffin@JenGriffinFNC; Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “What We Know about the Vetting And Immigration Process of National Guard Shooting Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal,” CBS News, updated December 1, 2025, https://www .cbsnews.com /news/rahmanullah-lakanwal-national-guard-shooting-suspect-vetting-immigration/.
[7] Griffin@JenGriffinFNC; Ray and Pequeño, “D.C. Shooting Suspect Was Granted Asylum In April.”
[8] Griffin@JenGriffinFNC.
[9] Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” January 20, 2025, Sec. 1(b), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/30/2025-02009/protecting-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety.
[10] Ibid, Sec. 2(a)(iv).
[11] For further support of this observation, see: the interview with Peter Bergen, the vice president of Global Studies and Fellows at New America, in A. Martínez, “Security Analyst Talks about How The U.S. Vets Afghan Nationals,” NPR, posted December 1, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/12/01/nx-s1-5623888/security-analyst-talks-about-how-the-u-s-vets-afghan-nationals, as well as CBS Evening News, “New Details About National Guard Shooting Suspect’s Mental Health,” YouTube, posted December 2, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sH420aoAmo.
[12] Farnoush Amiri, “Suspect in National Guard Attack Struggled with ‘Dark Isolation’ as Community Raised Concerns,” Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), posted November 30, 2025, https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/30 /suspect-in-national-guard-attack-struggled-with-dark-isolation-as-community-raised-concerns/; De Luce and Schapiro, “D.C. Shooting Suspect Was Part of a CIA-Backed Unit”; Brandon Livesay, “National Guard Shooting Suspect Spent Weeks Isolated in Bedroom, Case Worker’s Email Said,” British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), posted December 1, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj01q55lm76o.
[13] Peruse: S. Lee Funk, How Rampage Killers Interpret Their Worlds (Washington D.C: Academica Press, 2024), 57-95, and S. Lee Funk, Why Rampage Killers Emerge: Conditions and Characteristics (Washington D.C: Academica Press, 2024), 146-158, 169-173, 230-231.
[14] De Luce and Schapiro, “D.C. Shooting Suspect Was Part of a CIA-Backed Unit”; Funk, Why Rampage Killers Emerge, 102-118, 169-173; Griffin@JenGriffinFNC.
[15] Kangrui Jiang and Margaret A. Wilson, “Terrorism and the Media: Toward a New Measure of Media-Orientation,” Terrorism and Political Violence, posted online September 20, 2025, under “Introduction,” https://www.tandfonline .com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2025.2555233#abstract.
[16] Funk, How Rampage Killers Interpret Their Worlds, 13-15, 160-177; Funk, Why Rampage Killers Emerge 7-10.
[17] National Guard directives interpreted and quoted, in Campbell Robertson, Shawn Hubler, and Chris Hippensteel, “Before the Shooting, Some Troops and Officials Worried About the Guard’s Safety,” New York Times, posted November 26, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/us/guard-troops-officials-worried-safety.html.
[18] Account of court proceedings, in Robertson, Hubler, and Hippensteel, “Before the Shooting, Some Troops and Officials Worried.”
[19] Alex Nowrasteh, “Risk Analysis of Mass Shootings Committed by Immigrants and Native-Born Americans,” Cato Institute, Briefing Paper no. 185 (April 1, 2025), 1, https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2025-03/Briefing-Paper-185.pdf.
[20] Alex Nowrasteh, “Terrorism and Immigration: A Risk Analysis, 1975–2022,” Cato Institute, Policy Analysis no. 958 (August 22, 2023), 1, https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2023-08/PA%20958_appendix_update.pdf.
[21] Wm. Robert Johnston, compiler, “Deadliest Terrorist Strikes in the United States,” “Worst terrorist strikes in the United States,” updated August 17, 2019, http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/terrorism/wrjp255us.html; Dale L. Watson, Executive Assistant Director, Counterterrorism/Counterintelligence Division, FBI, testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 6, 2002, FBI Official Web Site (archived), https://archives.fbi .gov/archives/news/testimony/the-terrorist-threat-confronting-the-united-states.
[22] Economic Times (ET), “Trump Orders 500 More Guard Troops to D.C. after Shooting; Hegseth Warns Military Won’t ‘Back Down,’” YouTube, posted November 28, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzmeoHLHTZM.
[23] Stephen Collinson. “Trump Vows Immigration Crackdown after Shootings of National Guard Members in DC,” Cable News Network, posted and updated November 27, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/politics/dc-shooting-national-guard-trump-analysis.
[24] Alexander Rossell Hayes, “Majorities of Americans Disapprove of ICE and Say the Agency Mistreats Citizens and Immigrants,” YouGov, posted November 14, 2025, https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/53394-majorities-of-americans-disapprove-of-ice.
[25] Charles Creitz, “Afghan Evacuees with Child-Fondling, Terror Arrests Swept Up in DHS Crackdown after Botched Vetting Exposed,” Fox News, posted December 4, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/afghan-evacuees-child-fondling-terror-arrests-swept-up-dhs-crackdown-after-botched-vetting-exposed.
[26] Gloria Rebecca Gomez, Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, Tucson Sentinel, and Univision, “Arizona’s Congresswoman Grijalva Says She Was Pepper Sprayed During Tucson ICE Raid,” News from the States, posted December 5, 2025, https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/arizonas-congresswoman-grijalva-says-she-was-pepper-sprayed-during-tucson-ice-raid; Graig Graziosi, “ICE Has Seen a Dramatic Jump in Arrests Since Stephen Miller’s Decree – But Still Well Below His Stated Goal,” America Online, posted December 4, 2025, https://www.aol.com/articles/ice-seen-dramatic-jump-arrests-194652605.html; Ryan Knappenberger, “Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Warrantless Immigration Arrests in District of Columbia,” Courthouse News Service, posted December 7, 2025, https://courthousenews.com/judge-orders-trump-administration-to-halt-warrantless-immigration-arrests-in-district-of-columbia/; Austin Kocher, “A Record 65,735 People in ICE Custody as of November 30,” posted December 6, 2025, https://austinkocher.substack.com/p/a-record-65735-people-in-ice-custody; Héctor Ríos Morales, “New Data Shows ICE Ramping Up Nationwide Arrests to Meet Trump’s Higher Daily Quota,” Latin Times, posted December 6, 2025, https://www.latintimes.com/new-data-shows-ice-ramping-nationwide-arrests-meet-trumps-higher-daily-quota-592247; Ramon Antonio Vargas, “US Citizen Chased by Federal Agents in New Orleans Says She Was Targeted Because ‘I’m Brown,’” Guardian, posted December 5, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/us-citizen-chased-ice-agents-new-orleans; Chase Woodruff. “ICE ‘Routinely’ Made Unlawful Warrantless Arrests in Colorado, Federal Judge Finds,” News from the States, posted November 25, 2025, https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/ice-routinely-made-unlawful-warrantless-arrests-colorado-federal-judge-finds.
[27] In Graziosi, “ICE Has Seen a Dramatic Jump.”
[28] United States Citizenship and Immigration Services News Release, “USCIS Implements Additional National Security Measures in the Wake of National Guard Shooting by Afghan National,” posted November 27, 2025, https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-implements-additional-national-security-measures-in-the-wake-of-national-guard-shooting-by.
[29] The list is derived from a presidential proclamation issued in June 2025. Some of the countries’ entrants are “fully” restricted and others “partially.” President of the United States of America Proclamation, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” posted June 4, 2025, (f) and (g), https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06 /restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/.
[30] ET, “‘Act of Evil…’: Trump Fumes after DC National Guard Shooting, Vows Culprit ‘Will Pay Steepest Price,’” YouTube, posted November 27, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWZe1U9Pbms.
[31] Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump, Truth Social, November 27, 2025.
[32] Catalogue of quotations in: Anna Betts, “From ‘Criminals’ to ‘Garbage’, Trump Is Ramping Up Anti-Immigrant Language,” Guardian, posted December 6 ,2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/06/trump-anti-immigrant-language; Human Rights Watch, “Trump’s Racist Language Serves Abusive Immigration Policies,” posted May 22, 2018, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/22/trumps-racist-language-serves-abusive-immigration-policies; Amanda Terkel and Megan Lebowitz, “From ‘Rapists’ to ‘Eating The Pets’: Trump Has Long Used Degrading Language Toward Immigrants,” NBC News, posted September 19, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com /politics/donald-trump/trump-degrading-language-immigrants-rcna171120.
[33] Emmy Martin, “Trump on Immigrants: ‘We Got A Lot of Bad Genes in Our Country Right Now,’” Politico, posted October 7, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/07/trump-immigrants-crime-00182702.
[34] Secretary Kristi Noem@Sec_Noem, X, posted December 1, 2025.
[35] The protocol was noted in relation to antisemitism in Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1996, 1997), 35-37.