Democrats have a knack for downplaying political violence when it suits their political narrative, but Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) took it to a new, disgraceful low on Thursday.
During a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, the Mississippi Democrat, who previously chaired Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked January 6 Select Committee, decided to rewrite history. He referred to the targeted assassination attempt on American soldiers by Afghan Rahmanullah Lakanwal as an “unfortunate accident.”
You really have to see the transcript to believe the level of disconnect on display here.
Thompson was questioning DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and NCTC Director Joseph Kent. He attempted to trap them in a bureaucratic gotcha moment regarding asylum paperwork. In the process, he revealed exactly how the Left views threats to our nation. Thompson looked at Secretary Noem and casually referred to "the unfortunate accident that occurred with the National Guardsman being killed."
The congressman’s choice of words stunned Noem, and she immediately pushed back against this absurd characterization.
"You think that was an unfortunate accident?" she asked him, clearly horrified by his choice of words.
Thompson tried to stammer out a clarification, but Noem cut through the nonsense with the only definition that matters. She stated firmly, "It was a terrorist attack."
I suspect Thompson didn’t expect anyone to call him out for his choice of words because when you watch how things played out, it seems almost panicked. He tried to regain control of the narrative. He demanded she wait so he could "get it straight." But Noem refused to let the abhorrent euphemism stand. She reminded the committee of the brutal reality of that day. She said, "He shot our National Guardsmen in the head."
Rather than apologizing for minimizing the tragedy, Thompson complained to the chairman about the interruption and sought to “reclaim my time.” He then doubled down on his minimization of the attack while attempting to pivot to a political attack on the current administration. He told Noem, "It was an unfortunate situation, but you blamed it solely on Joe Biden."
Thompson then tried to grill Noem on who technically signed the asylum application for the terrorist. His goal was transparent. He wanted to pin the final paperwork approval on the Trump DHS, ignoring how the individual arrived here in the first place. He demanded to know, "I want you to know, who approved the asylum, uh, application, uh, for this same person?"
When Noem attempted to explain the context of the terrorist's entry, Thompson went into full suppression mode. He repeatedly interrupted her, shouting, "No, no, no... into the country ... No, I, I want to know who approved it."
He refused to let her speak. Thompson knew the answer would devastate his narrative. Noem persisted through the badgering. She explained that "when this individual came into the country ... he came under ... an evacuation of Afghanistan ... under Operation Allies Welcome was thoroughly vetted by the Biden administration at that point and that time, allowed into our country, and that was never followed up."
She continued to dismantle Thompson’s argument by pointing out the systemic failures inherited by the current team. She noted, "I want to remind everybody in Congress ... we, we follow the law and every asylum is supposed to have a check-in every single year and the Biden administration failed to do that."
Thompson, sensing he was losing the exchange badly, resorted to threats. He actually suggested he might charge the DHS Secretary with perjury simply because he disliked her answer. He blustered, "Miss, I'm reclaiming my time. Uh, I don't want to charge, file perjury charges against you, but I'm of the opinion that the Trump administration, DHS, your DHS, approved the asylum application."
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Noem wouldn't let him bully her, though. She pointed out that any recent movement on the file was based entirely on the flawed data that the previous administration provided. She explained, "The asylum application moved forward under all of the information and vetting processes that were put in place under the Biden administration, which is when vetting happened. And that's what President Trump has changed."
Frustrated by Noem’s competence, Thompson turned his ire toward Kent. He sarcastically asked, "It's obvious you don't want to answer the question. Mr. Kent, do you want a shot at it?"
That was a mistake.
Kent delivered a scathing indictment of the Biden administration’s vetting theater. He told Thompson, "The individual was vetted to serve as a soldier in Afghanistan, and that vetting standard was used by the Biden administration as a ruse to bring him here."
Thompson tried to shout him down as well, but the damage was done.
🚨VILE: Dem Rep. Bennie Thompson just referred to the terrorist attack against two National Guardsmen in DC as an "unfortunate accident."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 11, 2025
Noem: "You think that was an 'unfortunate accident'!? He shot our National Guardsmen in the head." pic.twitter.com/d8Bpt2xN4J
Thompson wanted a soundbite to blame Trump. Instead, he informed the entire country that he considers the targeted assassination of our National Guardsmen as merely an “unfortunate accident.”
If Thompson proved anything, it’s how much contempt the left has for murdered patriots. PJ Media fights this insanity daily and we need your help to keep the fight going! Join PJ Media VIP to directly fund our survival. Use FIGHT for 60% off, plus ad-free access and exclusive deep dives. Back fearless truth or watch traitors win!
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