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West Virginians question National Guard deployments after attack on 2 of their own
SSgt Jason Mitchell, a member of the West Virginia Air National Guard attends a candlelight vigil for SSgt Andrew Wolfe outside of the Berkley County Sheriff Office on December 3, 2025 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. SSgt Andrew Wolfe was shot on November 26 near The White House in what officials described as a targeted attack by an Afghan refugee who had previously worked with the United States military and C.I.A in Afghanistan. (Michael A. McCoy for NPR)
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Michael A. McCoy for NPR
WEBSTER SPRINGS, WV. — In West Virginia, many of the thousands of bridges spanning mountain valleys and gorges are named for local veterans and on Main Streets in small towns, banners feature hometown soldiers, some of whom fought and died in past conflicts.
It’s a state with one of the country’s highest per-capita populations of veterans. Service in the military — including the various branches of the National Guard — has long been seen not just as a patriotic duty, but as an economic lifeline, particularly in some of the poorer parts of the state.
The death of Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom in a Washington, D.C. shooting and the wounding of another National Guard soldier — Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, have brought that reality home once more in their hometowns and across the state.
The two were attacked while patrolling near the White House as part of President Trump’s National Guard deployments to American cities. Trump has said the deployments are necessary to fight crime, but Democratic leaders and federal judges have questioned their legality. In deep red West Virginia too, there appears to be a growing chorus questioning the rationale for sending troops to D.C.

Before moving to nearby Summersville after high school, Beckstrom, 20, grew up in Webster Springs, with its population of just 800 tucked amid mountains and spruce forests. Kenny Kidd has been driving a school bus in the town for years. He remembers all the children and Sarah he says, “was a great kid.”
“She always had a smile on her face. Always willing to help. And she always liked to give me a rough time,” he says laughing.
In this part of the state, job prospects for someone graduating high school are pretty sparse.
“Coal mining is on its way out,” Kidd says. “Other than that, it’s… work at a grocery store or a hardware store. And there’s just not much here.”
Main Street in Webster Springs, W.Va. on Dec. 3, 2025. The small West Virginia town with a population of just 800 offers few job prospects for high school graduates.
Chris Jackson For NPR
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Flags fly at half-staff for West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom at the Webster County Courthouse in Webster Springs, W.Va. on Dec. 3, 2025.
Chris Jackson for NPR
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Chris Jackson for NPR
Financially, he says, the Guard is a good deal for young adults. The bonuses can help put them through college, the pay from monthly drills and annual training are much-needed money in their pockets. And then there’s the extra pay from deployments, like the one to D.C., where the West Virginia Guard has more soldiers per capita than any other state.
At a prayer vigil for Wolfe in his hometown of Martinsburg, Air Force Staff Sergeant Jason Mitchell says it was the need to pay off college debt that brought him to the National Guard. Mitchell, who is in the same unit as Wolfe — the 167th Airlift Wing — has served 13 years, but didn’t go to D.C. because he was already deployed in the Middle East as part of a regular rotation. He plans to stay for another seven years to get full retirement benefits, including a pension and veteran healthcare.
“My stepdaughter actually just joined and she graduated basic [training] while I was deployed,” he says. “She was kind of in the same boat where she was going to college and was looking for… an opportunity.”
Members of the West Virginia Public Safety community attend a candlelight vigil for SSgt Andrew Wolfe outside of the Berkley County Sheriff Office on December 3.
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Members of the West Virginia Public Safety community attend a candlelight vigil for SSgt Andrew Wolfe outside of the Berkley County Sheriff Office on December 3.
Michael A. McCoy for NPR
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Michael A. McCoy for NPR
At Martinsburg High School, guidance counselor Charity Powers advises seniors. It’s not just one thing that motivates those who choose the Guard, she says. Some want money for college, some want to travel and others see it as a patriotic duty to follow in the footsteps of relatives who’ve served.
“I think in this area, especially for kids who are kind of disadvantaged, which we have a lot of those students, it’s a really good opportunity for them.”
Despite the state’s enthusiasm for the military and the voluntary nature of the D.C. deployment, Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey has found himself on the defensive about it. Amid reports that troops are being employed in tasks such as trash pickup and landscaping instead of security, as the White House has suggested, West Virginia Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized Morrisey for signing off on it. Several state newspapers have echoed that sentiment on their opinion pages.
Mike Pushkin, a West Virginia House of Delegates member and chairman of the state’s Democratic Party says Beckstrom and Wolfe “would not be there had it not been for the president calling in the National Guard in this strange form of political theater and it unfortunately put them in harm’s way.”
In a statement to NPR, Gov. Morrisey said: “The State of West Virginia is unwavering in its support for our National Guard. Since our founding, our state has a proud history of military service, answering the call for missions across the globe. The mission in D.C. is a continuation of this legacy of service — and we fully back the Guard members who willingly stepped up to clean up crime in our nation’s capital.”
A pedestrian walks into United Bank as ribbons in honor of Sarah Beckstrom adorn the door on Main Street in Webster Springs, W.Va. on Dec. 3.
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But in a state that went heavily for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, it’s not difficult to find people who wonder aloud why sending the West Virginia National Guard to Washington makes any sense.

Roseanna Groves, who lives in Webster Springs and is related by marriage to Beckstrom was outraged that the man charged in the attack — an Afghan national who worked with the CIA — had been let into the U.S. at all. She blamed former President Biden, although he was let in under Trump’s administration.

“I think something should be done” about immigrants like him, she says. But she doesn’t understand the decision by Trump and Morrisey to send that Guard to Washington. “I feel it was crazy, I really do,” she says.
It’s a sentiment shared by Kidd, the school bus driver. He’s heard the reports that Beckstrom, Wolfe and others were busy in cleanup instead of “doing their jobs.” It just isn’t worth it, he says.
As for the deployment, “I think it’s turned into a lot more political than anything else,” he says.
Referring to those banners featuring local heroes in towns across West Virginia, “Sarah’s picture … it’ll be next,” he says. “But she’ll be missed.”
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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links
Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.
During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.
The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.
Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.
Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.
Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.
The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.
The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.
“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.
The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.
On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.
During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.
Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.
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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order
CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM
Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26
Page 5 of 17
and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.
Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)
On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.
Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)
On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.
Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)
On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.
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Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin
James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.
The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.
Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.
The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.
“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.
Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.
But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.
Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”
People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.


“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.
Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.
Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.
The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Family members said the services will be open to all.
“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”
The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.
Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.
Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.
“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”
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