'Radicalised in America': Kristi Noem Says Afghan Refugee Extremised in America As Vetting Failures Exposed

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Afghan refugee Rahmanullah Lakanwal was ‘radicalised since he’s been here in this country’ after arriving in 2021. Lakanwal, who previously worked with US forces in Kandahar, was granted asylum earlier this year before being identified as the suspect in the National Guard shooting near the White House.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has claimed that the suspect in last week's shooting of two National Guard members near the White House was 'radicalised since he's been here in this country' after arriving from Afghanistan in September 2021. Her remarks have intensified political debate over refugee vetting and immigration policy in the wake of the attack.

Officials identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the US as part of Operation Allies Welcome following the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Lakanwal was granted asylum earlier this year by the Trump administration. The CIA confirmed that he had previously worked with the US government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 after the US withdrawal.