Father of California marine killed in Afghanistan disrupts State of the Union
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The Gold Star father of a Marine killed during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was led away and arrested Thursday night for shouting at President Biden during his State of the Union address.
Steven Nikoui, who was invited to attend the annual address by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), yelled “Abbey Gate,” a reference to the bombing in Kabul, after Biden said, “America is safer today than when I took office,” news website Axios reported.
A man identified by Axios as Steven Nikoui shouts in protest from the upper gallery of the audience as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) Shana Chappell, right, mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, holds a plaque honoring her fallen son following a vigil on the eve of the first anniversay for the 13 U.S. Marines killed in an attack at the Kabul International Airport Lancei at George A. Ingalls Memorial Plaza in Norco on Thursday Aug. 25, 2022. (Photo by Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images) The American flag is lowered to half staff during a vigil on the eve of the first anniversary for the 13 U.S. Marines killed in an attack at the Kabul International Airport at George A. Ingalls Memorial Plaza in Norco Thursday Aug. 25, 2022. (Photo by Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)
“Our officers warned him to stop and when he did not, the man was removed from the House Galleries,” U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) confirmed in a statement.
Nikoui, 51, was arrested and charged with a local misdemeanor charge of “crowding, obstructing or incommoding,” the Capitol Police spokesperson told Axios news.
Mast announced that Nikoui would be his guest on Instagram prior to the State of the Union address.
“He is the father of Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, who was KIA due to Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Mast said in the post. “Joe Biden may try to turn the page on Afghanistan after his incompetence cost American lives, but NOT ON MY WATCH.”
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Kareem Nikoui was one of 13 U.S. service members killed by a suicide bomber while helping to evacuate Americans and Afghans ahead of the full U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Kareem Nikoui had joined the Marines right out of high school.
“He was in the ROTC and that’s what he wanted. He talked to his counselor…his dream was to be a marine and he fulfilled that dream,” a Norco resident told KTLA during a vigil held just weeks after the 20-year-old service member’s death.
Norco community honors fallen Marine Kareem Nikoui
Following Steven Nikoui’s arrest Thursday, Mast again went on Instagram to call out Biden.
“He was arrested because he cried out to Joe Biden to remember his son,” Mast wrote. “Joe Biden has never honored those killed at the Abby Gate and still hails the catastrophic withdrawal as a success!”
Contrary to Mast’s claim, in August 2021, Biden, joined by members of his cabinet, did indeed meet each of the families of the 13 fallen service members and paid respects as their remains were returned to Dover Air Force Base.
Protesting in an area where it is otherwise unlawful to demonstrate is prohibited in the Washington D.C. code. The charge can carry a fine of up to $500 and 90 days in prison.
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