US judge allows involuntary feeding of jailed suspect in deadly National Guard shooting

Rahmanullah Lakanwal was hospitalised in July after he stopped eating. He is charged with shooting 2 National Guard troops, killing one

A man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House, killing one of them, can be fed against his will under a judge’s emergency order.

US District Judge Amit Mehta agreed on Saturday to order “nonconsensual” nutrition and medical treatment for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was rushed to a hospital in July after he stopped eating. Mehta said Federal Bureau of Prisons medical staff can feed Lakanwal intravenously or through a medical tube to save his life.

Redacted court filings have not specified a reason for Lakanwal’s refusal to eat but prosecutors noted that courts have held that prison officials can involuntarily feed “hunger-striking prisoners”.

Justice Department lawyers asked Mehta to order the emergency life-saving measures for Lakanwal.

“The defendant has medical capacity to make determinations regarding his health and he is refusing nutrition that is necessary to sustain his life,” they wrote.

Lakanwal’s lawyers said he would oppose the government’s request. They noted that he has consumed some food, such as apple sauce, while hospitalised but also has been “adamant at times” that he did not want to eat.

“At this juncture, the government does not indicate that Mr. Lakanwal’s condition is so dire as to require this Court’s intervention and the provided medical records do not support that position,” they wrote in a redacted court filing.