A guest of US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was arrested by Capitol police during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address for refusing to sit down. Aliya Rahman, a US citizen from Minneapolis, was charged with unlawful conduct and disruption of Congress after standing silently in the gallery.
Rahman had been invited by Omar to highlight the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In January, Rahman was dragged from her car by agents in Minneapolis, suffering shoulder injuries. She said she was trying to go to a doctor's appointment at the time.
During the speech, Capitol police said Rahman was told to sit but refused. Rahman told Democracy Now that she stood silently without any signs or gestures. 'No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound,' she said. She added that she stood when she heard Trump make what she described as racist comments about her city.
Omar called for an investigation into the arrest, stating that Rahman was 'forcibly removed' despite warning officers about her injured shoulders. 'The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy,' Omar said. Rahman was taken to hospital for treatment before being booked at Capitol police headquarters.
Capitol police stated that demonstrating is prohibited at State of the Union events, and that Omar and other lawmakers who protested were not arrested due to constitutional protections. Omar had previously shouted at Trump during the speech, accusing him of killing Americans.
