National Guardsman Murdered Blocks From Campus

The Right Angle Editorial Board

On Wednesday, Nov. 26, two West Virginia National Guardsmen, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, were shot just blocks from the George Washington University Campus in a targeted attack.

Beckstrom, sworn in less than 24 hours before the attack, had volunteered to work the holidays so her fellow soldiers could spend time with their families. Tragically, it was on Thanksgiving that Beckstrum died, while Wolfe is still in critical condition and fighting for his life.

This was not merely a tragedy. This was an outright assault on the fearless men and women who keep our community safe and orderly.

Every morning, these heroes put on their uniforms and patrol DC so that the rest of us can go to class, walk the streets, and sleep without fear of the violent crime that once plagued our city. Each day, these heroes say goodbye to their families as they go off to work, just like everyone else. But unlike every other day, on November 26th, these men and women were not able to go home and see their families.

“We are completely heartbroken and outraged by the horrific murder of [a] heroic National Guardsman just three blocks from our campus,” Kieran Laffey, Chairman of the GW College Republican Club, said. “Families will now face an empty seat at the Thanksgiving table, a loss that no words can fully measure and a pain they should have never been forced to endure.”

This attack follows a disturbing trend of the normalisation of violence in our nation; from the many who justified the murder of Charlie Kirk, the Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones winning an election after openly claiming to fantasize about murdering his opponents' children, and the two separate assassination attempts on President Trump. But perhaps the most disturbing part of this incident in particular is that these men and women were not political figures; they were just ordinary citizens who swore an oath to defend their nation.

That did not prevent some Democratic lawmakers, including Elissa Slotkin, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan, and Mark Kelly, from releasing a video entitled “Refuse Illegal Orders.” In it, they stated that the Trump Administration was “pitting our uniformed military against American citizens”. Such rhetoric may have contributed to an environment in which this tragedy occurred.

In a statement on Nov. 20, these same Democratic lawmakers claimed “our service members should know that we have their backs” and called on all Americans to condemn “calls for our murder and political violence," concluding that “this is a time for moral clarity.” Yet their morality and condemnation of violence are nowhere to be seen.

“While we do not yet know the motive, the rising rhetoric that labels law enforcement and National Guardsmen as ‘Gestapo’ or ‘illegal’ must end,” Laffey explained. “This disgraceful language has turned them into supposed enemies in the eyes of some, and it must stop.”

While a loud minority around George Washington’s campus has long espoused hatred towards the Guardsmen, most students have felt safer, more comfortable, and have been able to live without fear of violent crime.

GW students on Fizz, where insults and complaints about the National Guard routinely get thousands of likes, expressed genuine dismay and sadness over the death of the Guardsman, condemning anyone who spoke ill of the fallen soldier.

“These men and women are some of the bravest and finest people who protect our community every single day,” Laffey stated. “This attack must be unequivocally condemned by all, and we forcefully call on every campus organization to join us in denouncing violence against those who keep us safe.”