By During the State of the Union address on Thursday, President Joe Biden ticked off a list of alleged victims to be mentioned as a way to make him seem relatable. He mentioned a woman who decided to have an abortion at 20 weeks but couldn’t in Texas and had to travel to another state, he talked about a Civil Rights activist, but one group of people he didn’t mention were the Marines killed in Afghanistan due to his own incompetence.
Biden’s whitewashing of his mishandling of the American military was enough to set one of the fathers of the fallen Marines off. And, like most activists who challenge Biden, at least activists who aren’t leftwing like the ones who blocked his motorcade on Thursday, the father soon found himself in jail.
Capitol police escorted the father of a slain U.S. Marine from Southern California out of the State of the Union address after interrupting President Joe Biden’s speech on Thursday, according to CBS News.
Steven Nikoui, 51, shouted, “remember Abbey Gate,” before the United States Capitol Police took him out of the chamber. He was arrested for a misdemeanor. People who illegally demonstrate or disrupt a session of Congress typically receive a $50 fine and are released after payment.
Abbey Gate was the site of the 2021 terrorist attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. The blast killed 170 civilians and 13 U.S. service members, including Nikoui’s son, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui.
Florida Rep. Brian Mast invited the 51-year-old to the State of the Union. In a blog post on his congressional website, Mast said he invited Steve to remind Biden about the “damage he has done to national security and American families.”
The protestor who interrupted Biden and yelled about Abbey Gate after being escorted out of the House gallery was handcuffed. Source sent along this photo >> pic.twitter.com/4kQFytfSOn
— Ken Tran (@kentran_) March 8, 2024
Mast, who lost his legs in combat, took to Twitter to explain what happened. “Steve Nikoui, the father of fallen Marine LCpl. Kareem Nikoui, was my guest to the State of the Union address, He was arrested because he cried out to [Biden] to remember his son.”
“Joe Biden has never honored those killed at the Abby Gate and still hails the catastrophic withdrawal as a success!” Mast said.
Steve Nikoui, the father of fallen Marine LCpl. Kareem Nikoui, was my guest to #SOTU2024.
He was arrested because he cried out to @JoeBiden to remember his son.
Joe Biden has never honored those killed at the Abby Gate and still hails the catastrophic withdrawal as a success! pic.twitter.com/m8Y0sUPLY6
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) March 8, 2024
“I talked to Steve prior to his announcement on the floor. I said, look, this is between you and your god and your conscience and your son, and the other families,” McCaul said. “I think they feel that their children have been completely, you know, blown off by this administration, the president’s never called to say ‘I’m sorry.’ And that is why he spoke up.”
The senior Republican warned the Gold Star dad that he would likely be escorted off the House floor if he protested.
“I didn’t encourage him to do it… it was his choice to make, and it was a powerful one,” McCaul told Fox News.
“The Texas Republican’s committee has been actively investigating the August 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and the decisions that led to it,” the news outlet noted.
Other Republicans offered support to the Gold Star dad. Rep. Mike Waltz a Florida Republican, posted a picture of himself alongside Nikoui and took aim at Biden’s attempt to sweep the deaths of the Marines under the rug.
This Gold Star father – Steve Nikoui – lost his son Kareem Nikoui at Abbey Gate Afghanistan.
Then Kareem’s older brother committed suicide over the loss.
To this day, Biden has never apologized or said Kareem’s name in public.
And Steve was ARRESTED for demanding Biden do… pic.twitter.com/ubyK2XkBM0
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) March 8, 2024
Authorities charged Nikoui with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding Congress, a misdemeanor that typically results in the offender’s release after paying a $50 fine, according to The New York Post.
WATCH: STEVE NIKOUI IS FREED!!!!
Thank you @RepBrianMast!!!!!!! https://t.co/N2ps242yre pic.twitter.com/lKY1yyaVlO
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 8, 2024
Mast helped coordinate his release in the early hours of the morning from the custody of the House Sergeant at Arms.
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