Steve Nikoui, a Gold Star father, was arrested during Joe Biden’s State of the Union address for heckling him over his botched handling of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Nikoui’s son was among the U.S. Marines killed at Kabul airport during Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from the country in 2021, and he began shouting “Abbey Gate” during a section of Biden’s speech.
Thirteen U.S. servicemen were killed by Islamic State–Khorasan Province (IS-KP) suicide bombers at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate, including Nikoui’s son, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui.
According to Capitol Police, Lance Cpl. Nikoui’s bereaved father has been charged with a misdemeanor pertaining to Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding.
Nikoui was a guest of Florida Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight, who said he had invited the Gold Star father to the address as a way of “reminding President Biden of the damage he has done to national security and American families.”