Tulsi Gabbard criticized Rep. Bennie Thompson after he described the Thanksgiving Eve shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., as an "unfortunate accident." Authorities say an Afghan refugee allegedly carried out the attack, killing Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. Thompson later told CNN he misspoke while trying to steer the discussion away from blaming President Biden; others at the hearing called the incident a terrorist attack.
Tulsi Gabbard Rebukes Rep. Bennie Thompson After He Called National Guard Shooting an “Unfortunate Accident”
Tulsi Gabbard sharply criticized Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) after he described this week’s shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., as an "unfortunate accident" during a House Homeland Security hearing.
The incident occurred on the evening before Thanksgiving, when two National Guard servicemembers were shot just blocks from the White House. Authorities say an Afghan refugee is the alleged attacker. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was killed and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was critically wounded.
During Thursday’s "Worldwide Threats to the Homeland" hearing, Thompson used the phrase when addressing a fellow witness:
"Madam Secretary, you and the gentleman from NCTC (Joe Kent) reference the unfortunate accident that occurred with the National Guardsman being killed."
Former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard condemned Thompson’s wording on Fox & Friends, saying,
"It is absolutely infuriating. He cannot and refuses to directly identify this attack for what it was, a terrorist attack on our own soil against our National Guard, men and women in this case, who are putting their lives on the line."
Governor Kristi Noem, who pushed back at the hearing, responded directly: "You think that was an unfortunate accident? It was a terrorist attack." Critics including Gabbard and others argue that senior leaders have at times been reluctant to explicitly label similar acts as terrorism, a hesitation they say undermines public understanding and counterterrorism efforts.
On Friday, Thompson told CNN he had misspoken when questioned by co-host Kate Bolduan. He said he had been attempting to steer the exchange away from assigning blame to President Joe Biden for an asylum decision tied to the alleged attacker and clarified, "Oh, absolutely not... I was moving toward the discussion that [Kristi Noem] could not blame Joe Biden on the situation because she approved this person's asylum application and that's where we were headed." When asked if he had misspoken, Thompson replied, "Oh, absolutely. Absolutely."
Sen. Tom Cotton also commented separately that the attack was preventable and urged officials to take steps to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
Fox News Digital reporter Marc Tamasco contributed to the original coverage.
