OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
3:03 PM – Thursday, December 11, 2025
Mississippi’s sole Democrat representative, Bennie Thompson, referred to the November 26th shooting of two West Virginia National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., as an “unfortunate accident” during a hearing on Thursday, seemingly downplaying the horrific incident that shocked the nation.
During the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Noem, testifying as a witness alongside others, like National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Joe Kent and the FBI agent Michael Glasheen, fielded questions on immigration, terrorism, and other “worldwide threats” to the nation.
However, after hearing Rep. Thompson’s description, Noem shot back fiercely, rebuking the Democrat Congressman and correcting his callous characterization, asserting that it was in fact a deliberate terrorist attack — not simply an “unfortunate accident.”
Thompson later adjusted his wording to “unfortunate situation” while attempting to continue his line of questioning.
On the Eve of Thanksgiving, National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was fatally shot alongside Guardsman colleague Andrew Wolfe, 24, who is reportedly still in critical condition, by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who was residing in Bellingham, Washington, at the time of the attack.
Lakanwal drove across the country to commit the heinous shooting, and he shouted the Islamist declaration “Allahu Akbar!” during the attack, according to court documents. After Lakanwal shouted “Allahu Akbar,” reportedly firing 10-to-15 rounds, he was then tackled, stabbed, and shot by other nearby Guardsmen before being taken into custody.
“Madam Secretary, you and the gentleman from NCTC (Joe Kent) reference the unfortunate accident that occurred with the National Guardsman being killed,” Thompson said, looking toward Noem.
“You think that was an unfortunate accident? It was a terrorist attack!” Noem fired back.
Thompson then raised a hand toward Noem, in a firm gesture that appeared to ask her to hold her response until after he finished.
“Wait. Wait. Look, I’ll get it straight. Then you can respond,” Thompson added.
“He shot our National Guardsmen in the head,” Noem responded back.
“Look,” Thompson chimed in, appearing visibly frustrated. “It was an unfortunate situation. But you blamed it solely on Joe Biden.” Thompson then followed up by rhetorically asking who approved the asylum application for the accused murderer.
“Mr. Thompson, this individual who came into the country…” Noem began, before Thompson swiftly interrupted her again.
Disregarding Thompson’s ongoing attempts to interrupt and seemingly demean her, Noem reminded those present that Lankawal is an Afghan national who only entered the United States due to the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program. Noem emphasized that asylum seekers are to check-in each year, and the Biden administration failed at that crucial task.
“I want to remind everybody in Congress. We follow the law, and every asylum is supposed to have a check-in every single year, and the Biden administration failed to do that — they ‘vetted’ this individual, allowed them into our country, and did not do due diligence.”
Thompson pushed back, reiterating that the asylum had been granted in April 2025 — under the Trump administration’s own DHS. This prompted Noem to reiterate that the application had been processed under lazy vetting and faulty policies from the Biden administration.
“Had we followed the standard operating procedures for special immigrant visas, that individual and none of the ‘Allies Welcome’ people would have come to America: That’s on Joe Biden,” she added.
Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) closed the hearing with remarks that clearly sided with the DHS Secretary, praising her testimony and echoing her point that the asylum vetting failures stemmed from Biden-era policies the Trump administration had inherited.
“Point of order Mr. Chairman, that was a murder that took place in D.C. It was not an unfortunate incident and those comments are F-n disrespectful,” Garbarino said.
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