Father Of Marine Killed In Afghanistan Arrested After Heckling Biden At SOTU
Steve Nikoui, whose son in the Marines was killed during the 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan, screamed at President Joe Biden as he gave his State of the Union speech. Nikoui was arrested. (Watch the video below.)
Nikoui seemed to yell “Marines” and “Abbey Gate,” referring to the site of a terrorist attack where Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui and 12 other American troops died as the U.S. military pulled out of Kabul.
TV footage captured the elder Nikoui’s outburst that caught the attention of Biden as the president talked about America being safer under his leadership. Nikoui is then shown being escorted out of the gallery.
Nikoui was charged with a misdemeanor for crowding, obstructing, or incommoding, ABC News reported. Capitol Police said it had warned Nikoui to stop before taking action.
“This is a routine charge on Capitol Hill. People who illegally demonstrate/disrupt Congress typically are released after they pay a $50 fine, so the misdemeanor charge is resolved without going to court,” officers wrote, according to The New York Times.
Videos on social media purportedly show Nikoui, a guest of Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), out and about after the arrest.
Gold Star families have accused Biden of ignoring the loss of their loved ones in Afghanistan, Politico reported, and the president has been reluctant to offer consolation because his “poll numbers took a nosedive after the swift fall of Kabul.”
Nikoui told The Daily Beast in 2021, “Biden turned his back on him.”
