Former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., came to the defense of the father of a Marine who was arrested after Thursday's State of the Union during which he yelled at President Joe Biden.
“As a Gold Star Son, I can only imagine the pain you have felt since losing your son in Afghanistan,” Phillips wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday afternoon. “No one should interrupt a State of the Union address, but if Marjorie Taylor Greene wasn't arrested for her outburst, why should they?”
Steve Nicoui51, is the father of a US Marine who died during the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Nikoui was escorted out of the House Galleries during Biden's speech on Thursday after he stood up and began to shout “Abbey Gate” repeatedly.
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The boos were a reference to an attack at the Abbey gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport. in Afghanistan which occurred during the military withdrawal from the country.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., came to the defense of the father of a Marine who was arrested after Thursday's State of the Union during which he yelled at President Joe Biden. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The surprise attack killed 13 U.S. service members and injured at least 170 civilians, including Nikoui's son, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui.
Capitol Police said he was arrested on charges of overcrowding, obstruction or discomfort. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, recently called for the charges against Nikoui to be dropped.
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Nikoui was present as a guest of Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla. The representative reacted to Nikoui's arrest shortly after it happened, writing in Biden's incompetence.” …So much for the right to petition our government for redress of grievances.”
Steve Nikoui, 51, is the father of a US Marine who died during the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Nikoui was escorted out of the House Galleries during Biden's speech on Thursday after he stood up and He began shouting “Abbey Gate” repeatedly. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mast is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee.
Phillips also mentioned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in his X post.
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Greene, who donned a red “Make America Great Again” cap, yelled at Biden to “Say his name!” while he talked about the border crisis. Greene was referring to Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan migrant who was in the country illegally last month.
Greene, who donned a red “Make America Great Again” cap, yelled at Biden to “Say his name!” while he talked about the border crisis. Greene was referring to Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan migrant who was in the country illegally last month. (Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Greene had also given Biden a pin that read: “Say her name Laken Riley.”
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Fox News' Timothy Nerozzi and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
