The wheels of justice are turning, and they are turning hard in the nation’s capital following Wednesday’s shooting that left two National Guard members clinging to life in critical condition.
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro stood before reporters Thursday morning with a message as clear as a bell on a cold winter morning. If either of those guardsmen does not make it, the federal government will pursue murder in the first degree, and the suspect will face the possibility of the death penalty.
The facts, as they have emerged, paint a troubling picture. According to Pirro, the suspect drove his vehicle across the breadth of this country, from Washington state to Washington, D.C., with what appears to be deliberate intent. This was not a crime of opportunity. This was planned.
The current charges are substantial on their own merit. Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, along with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, carry a potential sentence of fifteen years. But Pirro made it abundantly clear these charges represent only the beginning, not the end, of this legal saga.
“We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree,” Pirro stated. “But make no mistake. If they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”
What adds another layer to this investigation is the suspect’s immigration status. Federal authorities are now working alongside the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to examine his immigration history and the vetting process that allowed him entry into this country. The questions being asked are uncomfortable but necessary. How did he get here? What was known about him? What should have been known?
Pirro did not mince words on this point. “This is what happens in this country when people are allowed in who are not properly vetted,” she declared.
Under Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Justice Department has pledged a thorough and impartial investigation. The commitment, according to Pirro, is to hold this perpetrator accountable under the full weight of American law.
The broader implications extend beyond one criminal case. These National Guard members were serving their country, standing watch in the nation’s capital. They represent, in Pirro’s words, “the line that separates a civilized society from a barbaric one.”
This administration has drawn a line in the sand. There will be no normalization of violence in Washington, D.C. There will be no acceptance of attacks on those who serve and protect. The message from federal prosecutors could not be more direct.
“You picked the wrong target, the wrong city and the wrong country,” Pirro warned the suspect.
As those two guardsmen fight for their lives in hospital beds, the American people wait and pray. Their families keep vigil. Their brothers and sisters in uniform stand ready. And the federal government prepares to bring the full force of justice down upon the man accused of putting them there.
The story is still being written, but the ending has already been determined by prosecutors. There will be accountability. There will be justice. And if the worst comes to pass, there will be the most serious charges the law allows.
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