By Emily Jacobs | Washington Examiner
GOP lawmakers are defending the Gold Star father arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on Thursday for heckling President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address.
Police say that Steve Nikoui, 51, was arrested for violating the D.C. Code after continuing to yell at the president despite officers warning him to stop. His son, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, was one of the 13 U.S. service members killed in an ISIS-K bombing during the American withdrawal from Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 26, 2021.
“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,” a Capitol Police spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
Nikoui was at the address as the guest of Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), who criticized the president after the arrest.