Judge authorizes involuntary feeding of jailed suspect in deadly National Guard shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House, killing one of them, can be fed against his will under a judge’s emergency order.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed Saturday to order “nonconsensual” nutrition and medical treatment for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was rushed to a hospital in July after he stopped eating. Mehta said federal Bureau of Prisons medical staff can feed Lakanwal intravenously or through a medical tube to save his life.

Redacted court filings haven’t specified a reason for Lakanwal’s refusal to eat, but prosecutors noted that courts have held that prison officials can involuntary feed “hunger-striking prisoners.”

Justice Department attorneys asked Mehta to order the emergency lifesaving measures for Lakanwal.

“The defendant has medical capacity to make determinations regarding his health, and he is refusing nutrition that is necessary to sustain his life,” they wrote.

Lakanwal’s attorneys said he would oppose the government’s request. They noted that he has consumed some food, such as applesauce, while hospitalized but also has been “adamant at times” that he didn’t want to eat.

“At this juncture, the government does not indicate that Mr. Lakanwal’s condition is so dire as to require this Court’s intervention and the provided medical records do not support that position,” they wrote in a redacted court filing.

Defense attorney Shelli Peterson declined to elaborate Monday on Lakanwal’s medical condition and care. A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office also declined to comment.

The Justice Department hasn’t announced whether it will seek the death penalty in the case. “That is a very weighty decision,” Pirro said last year.

The order authorizing Lakanwal’s involuntary feeding expires Oct. 28 but can be renewed.

Lakanwal, an Afghan national who resided in Bellingham, Washington, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the November 2025 shooting that killed West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.

Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were deployed to Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital, which began last summer. Lakanwal ambushed the Guard members outside a subway station three blocks from the White House, according to prosecutors.

Another National Guard member heard gunshots and saw Beckstrom and Wolfe fall to the ground as Lakanwal fired a gun and screamed, “Allahu Akbar!” according to a police report. Lakanwal was shot during the confrontation and made his initial court appearance from a hospital bed last year.