Steve Nikoui is the gold star father of Kareem Nikoui, who died in the terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. Marines in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Nikoui, 51, was the man who shouted “Abbey Gate” and “United States Marines” at President Joe Biden during his March 7, 2024, State of the Union address. He was then escorted out of the building. According to Fox News, Nikoui’s son was a Marine lance corporal who died in the attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan in 2021, along with 12 other U.S. service members.
You can read a round-up of all of the U.S. service members killed in the Kabul attack here.
The moment Nikoui shouted at Biden was captured on video.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Steve Nikoui Was Arrested After He Refused to Stop Shouting ‘Abbey Gate’ at President Joe Biden, Reports Say
According to Fox News, Nikoui was arrested by Capitol Police. A photo that widely circulated on X showed him under arrest.
Nikoui” was confronted by security during his outburst, who demanded he stop. He refused and continued shouting,” Fox News reported.
According to Fox News, he was then “removed from the House Galleries and arrested by Capitol Police on the misdemeanor charge of Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding.”
Nikoui was a guest of Florida U.S. Rep. Brian Mast at the State of the Union.
“Steve Nikoui, the father of fallen Marine LCpl. Kareem Nikoui, was my guest to #SOTU2024,” Mast wrote after Nikoui’s arrest. “He was arrested because he cried out to @JoeBiden to remember his son. Joe Biden has never honored those killed at the Abby Gate and still hails the catastrophic withdrawal as a success!”
Mast also wrote on X, “My guest to #SOTU was Steve Nikoui, a father whose son was killed because of Biden’s incompetent Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden wouldn’t acknowledge him or take accountability for his son’s death. Instead, they ARRESTED him. This is Biden’s America. Please spread the truth ASAP!”
2. Video Showed Steve Nikoui Being Embraced by Supporters After He Was Released
Video also showed Nikoui after he was released.
Axios reported that the charge Nikoui is facing “carries a fine of up to $500 and 90 days in prison.”
The Capitol Police told Axios, “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.”
The Capitol Police told The New York Times, “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.”
3. Kareem Nikoui ‘Always Wanted to Be a Marine,’ His Dad Says
FacebookShana Chappell with her son, Kareem Nikoui
Kareem “loved what he was doing, he always wanted to be a Marine,” said Nikoui, to the Daily Beast.
“He was born the same year it started, and ended his life with the end of this war,” Nikoui said of his son, to Reuters, referring to the U.S. military action in Afghanistan beginning in 2001.
Reuters reported that Steve Nikoui lives in Norco, California.
4. Steve Nikoui, a Carpenter From California, Has Criticized Joe Biden before, Saying the President ‘Turned His Back’ on His Son
FacebookKareem Nikoui
It’s not the first time that Nikoui has criticized Biden since his son’s death.
Nikoui’s father, Steve, a California carpenter, criticized Biden and U.S. military leaders in an interview with the Daily Beast, which reported that he is a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
“They sent my son over there as a paper pusher and then had the Taliban outside providing security. I blame my own military leaders… Biden turned his back on him. That’s it,” he told Daily Beast.
Shana Chappell, the mother of Kareem, has also criticized Biden. “He is an absolute disgrace to our country and so is anyone who supports him! #impeachbiden ASAP . The whole Biden admin needs to go ASAP!!!” Chappell wrote on her Instagram page.
5. Steve Nikoui Has Described Being ‘Glued to the TV,’ Not Knowing Whether His Son Was Alive or Dead
Nikoui first heard about the terrorist attack on television, but he told the Daily Beast that, at first, he did not know whether his son was alive or dead.
“I stayed home from work yesterday because there was that attack and I knew he was there,” Nikoui told The Daily Beast. “So all day, I was glued to the TV.”
Within hours, Marines showed up at his door to deliver the bad news. “I was actually trying to console them. But at the same time, I just wanted them to get out as soon as possible so that no one from my family came back and saw them. I thought it appropriate that I be able to tell them,” he told Daily Beast.
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The post Gold Star Father From California Arrested After Disrupting Joe Biden’s State of the Union Speech, D.C. Police Say appeared first on Heavy.com.