Investigators are probing whether the suspect accused of gunning down two National Guard troops near the White House was being blackmailed by the Taliban, a chilling twist in a case that has rocked Washington.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, a former Afghan fighter who once worked alongside U.S. forces, is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting two West Virginia National Guard members on Nov. 26. One soldier died, and the second was left clinging to life.
Sources familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast that intelligence officials are examining whether a Taliban hit squad threatened Lakanwal’s family back home, pressuring him into carrying out the attack. The alleged threats included the possibility that his relatives could be beaten, killed, or even beheaded.
“It is by no means our only line of inquiry,” one intelligence source told the outlet, noting they’ve spent years helping Afghans targeted for aiding the West. “People in this country have no idea about the level of stress these people are under.”
The married father of five has already been branded a “monster” and “terrorist” by Donald Trump and other MAGA-aligned voices, who argue the ambush in the nation’s capital should land him on federal death row.
Lakanwal had reportedly been rattled about money and feared a Trump-era immigration crackdown could tank his Green Card application, potentially forcing him back to Afghanistan. Even so, investigators are baffled by the notion that he would drive across the country on what appears to be a suicide mission armed only with a revolver while targeting trained, heavily armed soldiers.
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He has no criminal history, no extremist ties, and passed screenings under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, but his visa later expired. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was approved by the Trump administration in April 2025.
A White House official told the Daily Mail that Lakanwal’s removal was never on the table because of his parole status. “This Afghan national was paroled into the US by the Biden Admin,” the official said. “After that, Joe Biden signed into law that parole program, and entered into the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which bound USCIS to adjudicate his asylum claim on an expedited bases. Regardless of asylum status, this monster would not have been removed due to his parole status, granted by Joe Biden.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that Lakanwal worked directly with the agency as a GPS-tracking specialist embedded with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan.
