Military Gold Star Father Arrested, But Democrat Protesters Go Free

Foreign Leaders on Afghanistan Withdrawal

Armin Laschet, currently serving in Germany's federal parliament, called Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal "the greatest debacle that NATO has experienced since its foundation.”

Regarding Biden's withdrawal, Rüdiger Lentz, the former head of the Aspen Institute in Berlin, said:

Naturally this has damaged American credibility, along with that of the intelligence services and of the military.

Tom Tugendhat, currently serving as U.K. Minister for Security, said:

Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suex [the Suez Crisis of 1956].

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the rapid withdrawal caused a ­“severely adverse impact.”

Gold Star Father Arrested at Biden's State of the Union

In August 2021, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui was one of 13 U.S. service members and 170 civilians who were killed in an attack at Abbey Gate, outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport, as Biden withdrew American troops from Afghanistan.

During Biden's State of the Union (March 7, 2024) - following Biden’s claim that “Americans are safer today than when I took office” - Steven Nikoui, the father of Kareem Nikoui (who was awarded a Gold Star for his death at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal), yelled "Abbey Gate! United States Marines!” and a related statement (slightly inaudible via video). The outburst lasted 9 seconds. Nikoui then exited his seat on his own accord, without physical prompting.

Steven Nikoui was invited to the State of the Union by Republican Representative Brian Mast, who served in the Army for more than 12 years.

Steven Nikoui was removed from the room and arrested by Capitol Police following his yells of “Abbey Gate!” and “United States Marines!”. In an emailed statement to Yahoo! News, U.S Capitol Police stated:

Tonight at approximately 10:15 p.m., a man disrupted the State of the Union Address by yelling. Our officers warned him to stop and when he did not, the man was removed from the House Galleries and was arrested for D.C. Code § 22–1307 - Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding. Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in the Congressional Buildings is illegal.

Pictures soon emerged on Twitter of Steven Nikoui in handcuffs.

In related news, the day before the State of the Union, Christy Shamblin - the mother-in-law of Marine Sergeant Nicole Gee, another Gold Star service member killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal - gave an interview on CNN confirming that not only has Biden never reached out to her family, his office has failed to reply to any of their communication attempts.

Liberal Protesters Not Arrested

While Senators and Representatives are "privileged from arrest during their attendance at the Session of their respective Houses," it’s worth noting that a number of Democrats have disrupted Republican-led State of the Unions and Congressional sessions, in worse fashion than Mr. Nikoui, without consequence. Examples are listed below.

On February 4, 2020, Democrats chanted “H.R.3” during President Trump’s State of the Union. The outburst lasted 13 seconds (compared to Nikoui’s 9 seconds).

In June 2016, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by John Lewis, drowned out Republican Speaker Paul Ryan with chants about gun violence and songs, including "We Shall Overcome". The disruption continued with a 25-hour sit-in. One news outlet reported:

There were ugly exchanges [...] including raised voices and jabbed fingers that momentarily appeared likely to escalate into violence.

Ryan’s spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, stressed:

The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution.

Yet, Hillary Clinton tweeted:

This is what real leadership looks like.

President Barack Obama tweeted:

Thank you John Lewis for leading on gun violence where we need it most.