What was described by some as an “unfortunate accident” has now erupted into a full-blown political flashpoint — and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem isn’t having it.
During a high-stakes hearing on Capitol Hill focused on global threats, Noem confronted Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, after he appeared to downplay a deadly incident in Washington, D.C. that left one National Guardsman dead and another injured.
The exchange was swift, tense, and revealing.
Thompson had referred to the incident involving two National Guardsmen as “the unfortunate accident that occurred,” a characterization that triggered an immediate and sharp response from Noem.
“You think that was an unfortunate accident?” she interjected. “It was a terrorist attack.”
The confrontation laid bare a significant divide over how threats on American soil — particularly those involving individuals who entered the country through controversial immigration programs — are being discussed and defined in the nation’s highest halls of power.
🚨 Rep. Bennie Thompson refers to the terrorist attack against two National Guardsmen in DC as an “unfortunate accident.”
Sec. Noem: “Unfortunate accident? It was a terroist attack. They shot our Guardsmen in the head.” pic.twitter.com/34YtPrVteF
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 11, 2025
The facts of the case are chilling. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who arrived in the U.S. under President Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome” in 2021, allegedly ambushed the two Guardsmen while they patrolled D.C. streets as part of a Trump-era crime intervention initiative. Court documents state that during the attack, Lakanwal shouted “Allahu akbar!” before firing.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, just 20 years old, died the next day. Her fellow Guardsman, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized, recovering from gunshot wounds.
While Thompson later walked back his wording, calling it an “unfortunate situation,” the damage had been done. Noem’s blunt and immediate correction underscored a growing tension between those who view such incidents as isolated or mishandled and those who argue the nation is ignoring clear and present dangers tied to immigration and national security.
As political rhetoric escalates, so too does public scrutiny. And for families mourning the loss of a young soldier — and a nation still grappling with the cost of decisions made at home and abroad — the semantics matter. This wasn’t just a tragic incident. It was, as Noem pointedly declared, a deliberate act of violence. A terrorist attack.
