In the aftermath of the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, was riled by a question from a journalist about people being “upset” with President Donald Trump for sending troops to the capital district.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, has been accused of Wednesday’s “targeted” attack close to the White House on the eve of Thanksgiving.
He faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
At a Thursday news briefing, Pirro said that the guard members shot were Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24.
She said they had been sworn in less than 24 hours before the attack. Both remain hospitalized in critical condition.
When asked about the president issuing an executive order in August that brought troops to Washington, D.C., Pirro shut down the reporter.
“I don’t even wanna talk about whether they should’ve been there,” the former Fox News host snapped. “We ought to kiss the ground and thank God that the president said it’s time to bring in more law enforcement to make sure that a city that had the fourth highest homicide rate in the country… that that violence was quelled.”
“I’m not even gonna go there,” Pirro added. (Watch a video of Pirro’s reaction below.)
National Guard troops have been engaged in a months-long deployment to help police the nation’s capital after Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington.
The president has expanded his Guard deployment to cities including Portland, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Within a month of the D.C. deployment, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling the city.
Since the shooting, Trump has asked for 500 more National Guard troops to be deployed to D.C.
