A guest of congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, was arrested by Capitol police during the State of the Union address.
Omar had invited Aliya Rahman, a US citizen and Minneapolis resident who in January was removed from her car and dragged by immigration agents in the city as part of the Trump administration’s increased efforts to arrest and deport alleged undocumented immigrants. The officers had been shouting at her to move.
A guest of congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, was arrested by Capitol police during the State of the Union address.
Omar had invited Aliya Rahman, a US citizen and Minneapolis resident who in January was removed from her car and dragged by immigration agents in the city as part of the Trump administration’s increased efforts to arrest and deport alleged undocumented immigrants. The officers had been shouting at her to move.
“I’m disabled trying to go to the doctor up there, that’s why I didn’t move,” Rahman told officers as they pulled her from the car. The officers caused her shoulder injuries, she later said.
During Donald Trump’s speech, Rahman “started demonstrating”, which violated rules for the event, according to the Capitol police.
“The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders,” the police said in a statement. “It is illegal to disrupt the Congress and demonstrate in the Congressional Buildings.”
Rahman was arrested for unlawful conduct and disruption of Congress, the police stated.
Rahman told the Democracy Now broadcast on Wednesday that she had been standing silently before she was arrested.
“No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound,” Rahman said. “There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are, sit down and stand up. All kinds of people were standing up all night. Me too. I stood up at the moment that I heard this man say some of the most racist things I have heard come out of any leader’s mouth about the people of my city.”or