Homeland security secretary also blamed ‘activist’ judges for defying court order to halt deportation flights
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, claimed on Sunday that the suspect in the national guard shooting in Washington DC was “radicalized” in the US and blamed the Biden administration, though the suspect’s asylum was approved under Donald Trump.
The shooting suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was granted asylum under the Trump administration in April 2025. He worked with CIA backed units in Afghanistan, coming to the US in September 2021 under an Operation Allies Welcome program.
“We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members, who talk to them.”
The Trump administration used the shooting as justification to halt and review asylum and green card applications.
