Editorial: National Guard shooting underlines folly of domestic deployment

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press Editorial Board, The Virginian-Pilot on Dec 3, 2025

Published in Op Eds

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Last week’s shooting of 20-year-old Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was a devastating tragedy. These two young service members pledged their lives to defend the Constitution only to be targeted in a cowardly attack in the nation’s capital.

With the shooter in custody, Americans can have faith that the criminal justice system will mete out punishment for this dastardly act of violence. But the public should also speak up in forceful opposition to the continued deployment of military forces to cities such as Washington, D.C., which are unjustified and whose legality remains in question before the courts.

A day before millions of Americans gathered with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, Beckstrom and Wolfe were among those troops still patrolling the District of Columbia under orders from President Donald Trump.

The president deployed 800 National Guard troops to Washington in August, claiming that the city was overrun by crime and the presence of military forces was necessary to quell a “public safety emergency.” In fact, violent crime in D.C. had reached a 30-year low in 2024, data confirmed by the U.S. Department of Justice in January.

More to the point, though, a spike in criminal activity, if it existed, would be better addressed through more law enforcement personnel, additional resources for intervention and deterrence programs, and assisting local prosecutors — all workable solutions that most cities would embrace when faced with a surge in violence.

Instead, the National Guard deployment introduced hundreds of uniformed personnel without law enforcement experience into an untenable situation. Many of those sent to Washington spent their days standing in Metro stations, taking photos with tourists and cleaning up trash rather than assisting law enforcement.

Beckstrom is but one example, her story emblematic of an assignment rife with problems.

She sought a career in criminal justice and believed enlistment in the National Guard would help her achieve that goal. A former boyfriend interviewed after last week’s tragedy said Beckstrom had cried about being deployed to D.C. from her small town of Summersville but, over time, had found solace in visiting museums and learning about the city’s history.

On Nov. 26, Beckstrom and Wolfe were standing near the entrance to the Farragut West Metro station in downtown Washington when authorities allege Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan man, shot them. Wolfe remains in critical condition and a grieving nation hopes for his recovery.

Lakanwal came to this country with his wife and children following the messy and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. He had worked with American forces during the 20-year war there and reportedly assisted an unit in Kandahar overseen by the CIA.

Predictably, the Trump administration blamed the violence on former President Joe Biden, though Trump negotiated the Afghanistan withdrawal during his first term and Lakanwal was granted asylum in April during Trump’s second term.

In response to this shooting, the administration ordered a halt to asylum decisions for Afghan nationals. The State Department also froze the Special Immigrant Visa program for those who assisted U.S. forces in Afghanistan, leaving that population in limbo and further gumming up the path to safety for thousands of our allies.

The president also ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington adding to the roughly 2,000 already there. That may be short-lived. On Nov. 20, a federal judge concluded the deployment was likely illegal, but withheld a formal decision for three weeks to allow for the administration to appeal.

Even as the nation mourns the loss of one promising young life and the irreparable harm inflicted to another, the public should hope that the case is resolved in a way that honors the Constitution and removes American troops from American cities. We are eternally grateful for their service but certain that Beckstrom and Wolfe, and all of their colleagues, should have been home for Thanksgiving. It is a terrible — and avoidable — tragedy that they were not.