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Americans who helped relocate Afghan shooter feel ‘betrayed’, but urge ‘community’ not be punished

November 28, 2025 | | Print Article

After helping with the mass relocation effort, a “betrayed” U.S. Navy veteran implored the public to separate “one deranged man” from the Afghan families brought stateside.

“They deserve dignity and truth, not fear-mongering.”

While many Americans are celebrating President Donald Trump’s intent to stop entry into the United States from Third World countries and carry out reverse migration, the man behind the coalition to get allies out of Afghanistan was not counted among them. Speaking with the New York Post, #AfghanEvac founder and president Shawn VanDiver implored the public to differentiate between the alleged Washington, D.C. terrorist and the Afghan community as a whole.

“He betrayed everybody who helped him. He betrayed his family. He betrayed every American that helped him get here. He betrayed the United States government. And he deserves to be held fully accountable,” VanDiver said of the Afghan national suspected of killing West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and, according to the latest reports, critically wounding West Virginia Air National Guard Andrew Wolfe. “But Afghan families did not do this.”

“One deranged man taking insane action does not make a community. People pushing this narrative are doing the shooter’s job for him. If he had been born in Missouri, nobody would be punishing all of Missouri,” asserted the veteran who posted a statement with similar messages.

Speaking for other Afghans in the United States, VanDiver said, “They feel like they’re being targeted. They’re being marked for something they didn’t do. They gave so much out of their hearts to help wartime allies. Now they’re scared and grieving.”

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“It’s like in the military, where one person screws up and the whole platoon gets punished. There’s no good reason to do this other than to go after people they didn’t want here in the first place,” he argued.

Previously, when efforts to fast-track residency for roughly 73,000 evacuees had been left out of a congressional funding bill in 2022, VanDiver had said, “What we’re seeing is the Republicans are really in the way. And that’s disappointing, because a lot of them told us they would be with us.”

Now, as the president intended to halt all entry from Third World countries and reexamine whether or not foreign nationals currently in the country should be permitted to remain, as well as seeking denaturalization for those who “undermine domestic tranquility,” the activist insisted, “Americans are safest when we stand with our allies, not against them. Afghan families are our neighbors, classmates, coworkers. They deserve dignity and truth, not fear-mongering.”

Agreeing with the Navy veteran’s stance, California-born Afghan Parliament member Mariam Solaimankhil posted to X, “I have more hate for [the alleged terrorist] Rahmanullah Lakanwal than anyone can imagine. As an Afghan, I pray his punishment is severe. He is a deranged individual who does not represent us, our values, or our community. One madman does not define a nation.”

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Meanwhile, reactions from the public appeared opposed to the message VanDiver was attempting to convey, including some who turned the veteran’s words — and actions — back on him and said, “I feel betrayed by the Americans who helped resettle them here.”

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Kevin Haggerty
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