A man charged with killing a National Guard soldier near the White House has been hospitalized after refusing to eat while held in pretrial custody, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Justice Department prosecutors said they learned Thursday morning that Rahmanullah Lakanwal was rushed to a hospital overnight for treatment of a potentially life-threatening condition. The US Marshals Service had notified prosecutors last month that Lakanwal was at risk of serious long-term health consequences, including death, due to what the filing described as his "refusal to consume adequate nutrition for an extended period." The court filing did not explain the circumstances of his refusal to eat, but prosecutors noted that courts have held that prison officials can involuntarily feed hunger-striking prisoners to save their lives.
US District Judge Amit Mehta convened an emergency hearing Thursday related to Lakanwal's medical condition. At the end of the hearing, Mehta instructed prosecutors to submit a proposed order that would give them access to Lakanwal's recent medical records. Defense attorney Shelli Peterson and a spokesperson for US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office both declined to comment after the hearing, according to ABC News.
Lakanwal, an Afghan national, has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder in a November 2025 shooting near a Washington, DC subway station three blocks from the White House. West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the attack. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded.
Beckstrom and Wolfe had been deployed from West Virginia to Washington at President Trump's direction as part of a surge of federal law-enforcement patrols that began last summer.
Prosecutors say Lakanwal drove to the capital from Bellingham, Washington, while carrying a stolen firearm and ambushed the two soldiers. A third Guard member heard shots and saw both Beckstrom and Wolfe fall to the ground. Lakanwal was shot during the confrontation and appeared by video from a hospital bed in December for his first court hearing. No trial date has been scheduled.
