DOJ's Dhillon to Newsmax: Media Blame Game for D.C. Attack 'Sickening'

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Newsmax on Wednesday that media commentary surrounding the ambush shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was "ludicrous" and "gaslighting."

She singled out remarks by MS Now's Ken Dilanian that she said crossed a line at a moment when the country should be united.

Dhillon, who leads the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, sharply criticized what she described as attempts by some journalists to imply the presence of uniformed Guard members in the capital contributed to the violence.

"Blaming the victims for this shooting, it really makes me sick," she told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" and guest host Bob Brooks. "We're all Americans, and there was a time in this country not that long ago when, regardless of party, we would all agree that it's horrific to attack our law enforcement."

Dilanian suggested earlier in the day in a video widely shared online that the sight of masked uniformed personnel in a U.S. city could provoke objection. "There are some Americans that might object to that. And so apparently this shooting has happened," he said.

Dhillon called that framing "outrageous," adding that the National Guard's deployment in Washington had "objectively" made the city safer.

"As a D.C. resident, I personally have been very grateful to see the presence of the National Guard and these brave men and women throughout our city," she said.

Two West Virginia Guardsmen remained in critical condition Wednesday after being shot near 17th and I streets NW. Authorities said the suspect, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021, allegedly lay in wait before opening fire.

According to DHS, the suspect — identified by the agency as Rahmanullah Lakamal, a criminal alien — entered the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden administration’s mass-parole initiative that admitted tens of thousands of Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul.

DHS stated that Lakamal was among those paroled into the country “unvetted.”

Dhillon declined to discuss investigative specifics but said the DOJ, FBI, and D.C. police are examining potential hate-crime elements and coordinating with federal prosecutors.

"This is a federal crime, among other things, and this DOJ has a zero-tolerance policy for any of this type of a crime," she said.

Dhillon also tied the incident to broader concerns about unvetted migrants entering the country, noting she was speaking only within the limits of her role. She said the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security are conducting coordinated enforcement actions nationwide.

"What I will say is that it is inescapably the fact that when you have unvetted people pouring into our country and not necessarily the most desirable people, you have crime, you have collateral impacts," she said.

"The DOJ is cracking down. My department is cracking down on all these foreign workers who are coming in and driving on the roads, don't speak English, are killing American citizens on the roads.

"This is outrageous. And we are taking action through coordinated enforcement actions."

GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!

Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.

You need to watch NEWSMAX today.

Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!

Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now

BEST OFFER:

Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.

Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.

Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!

Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.