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Politics49 outlets ran this3 min read

Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting Suspect

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, accused in a deadly shooting, can be force-fed while hospitalized after refusing food.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting Suspect

What this story says

  • A federal judge has authorized involuntary feeding and medical treatment for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is jailed on charges of shooting two National Guard troops.
  • Lakanwal was hospitalized in July after he stopped eating, and the judge's order allows medical staff to provide nutrition against his will.
  • The shooting in November 2025 killed West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.
  • Lakanwal, an Afghan national, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

Who covered it

Left 57%(27)Centre 30%(14)Right 13%(6)

Percentages are shares of the 47 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 49 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

65/100

Hype

20/100

49 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 6 of the 47 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issued an emergency order allowing federal Bureau of Prisons medical staff to provide nonconsensual nutrition and medical treatment to Rahmanullah Lakanwal. Lakanwal is jailed on charges related to a November 2025 shooting that killed West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. He was hospitalized in July after he stopped eating.

Prosecutors noted that courts have previously held that prison officials can involuntarily feed hunger-striking prisoners. The order authorizing involuntary feeding is set to expire on October 28 but can be renewed. Lakanwal, an Afghan national residing in Washington state, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

Disagreement on Lakanwal's food consumption

The Hindustan Times reported that redacted court filings had not specified a reason for Lakanwal's refusal to eat. In contrast, The Independent reported that Lakanwal's attorneys stated he would oppose the government's request, noting he had consumed some food, such as applesauce, while hospitalized but had also been "adamant at times" that he did not want to eat.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mention the detail from The Independent (US) that Lakanwal's attorneys stated he had consumed some food, such as applesauce, while hospitalized, but had also been "adamant at times" that he did not want to eat.

Tags:#NationalGuard#RahmanullahLakanwal#InvoluntaryFeeding#USPolitics#CourtOrder

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 1 Sept 2026, 02:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

27 rated outlets

  • Reports from the left-rated outlets focused on the judge's authorization of involuntary feeding for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the National Guard shooting. Several outlets, including Missouri Independent, Kansas Reflector, Wisconsin Examiner, Utah News Dispatch, and Arkansas Advocate, used headlines stating the judge ruled the Justice Department can force-feed the defendant. These reports highlighted that Lakanwal has refused to eat for months while jailed. The Independent (US) and The Sun Chronicle noted that the order authorizing involuntary feeding expires Oct. 28 but can be renewed. The Independent (US) also included details about Lakanwal's attorneys' arguments that he had consumed some food, such as applesauce, but had also been "adamant at times" that he did not want to eat.

Centre

14 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated outlets primarily reported that a judge authorized involuntary feeding for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the deadly National Guard shooting. Hindustan Times and South China Morning Post led with the judge's authorization of involuntary feeding for the jailed suspect. The Hill reported that a federal judge authorized nonconsensual feeding for Lakanwal, an Afghan national accused of killing a National Guard member. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Record, Washington Top News, WBAL, WPLG, and WKMG all reported that a man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House can be fed against his will under a judge's emergency order. Hindustan Times also included that redacted court filings hadn't specified a reason for Lakanwal's refusal to eat.

Right

6 rated outlets

  • Right-rated outlets focused on the judge's order for the force-feeding of the suspect in the deadly National Guard shooting. Washington Examiner and Just the News used headlines stating a judge ordered force-feeding for the suspect. VINnews, MY Northwest, and The Batesville Daily Guard reported that a man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House can be fed against his will under a judge's emergency order. Washington Times also reported that a man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House can be fed against his will under a judge's emergency order.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting…?
Of the 47 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 57% are rated left, 30% are rated centre, 13% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 49. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting… left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 47 rated outlets on this story, 57% are rated left, 30% are rated centre, 13% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting… biased?
Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting Suspect is one event reported by 49 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting…?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Judge Authorizes Involuntary Feeding for Jailed National Guard Shooting…?
49 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is Rahmanullah Lakanwal accused of?
Rahmanullah Lakanwal is accused of shooting two National Guard troops in November 2025. The incident resulted in the death of Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critical injury to Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.
Why is Lakanwal being force-fed?
Lakanwal was hospitalized in July after he stopped eating. A federal judge authorized involuntary feeding and medical treatment because he was refusing nutrition necessary to sustain his life while jailed.
When does the order for involuntary feeding expire?
The order authorizing involuntary feeding and medical treatment for Rahmanullah Lakanwal is set to expire on October 28. The court has the ability to renew the order if necessary.

Read it at the source

49 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

27
Show 19 more

Centre

14
Show 6 more

Right

6

Not rated

2

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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Rahmanullah Lakanwal Involuntary Feeding | MediaBias News