One of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s guests at the State of the Union was arrested by United States Capitol Police on Tuesday evening after she stood up in the gallery in protest during President Donald Trump’s speech.
Omar’s office said Aliya Rahman, a south Minneapolis resident, was removed from the House chamber after she stood up silently following remarks Trump made about members of Minnesota’s Somali community. Omar also publicly protested during his speech, yelling that his remarks were a lie.
“My guest, Aliya Rahman, stood up silently in the gallery during the president’s speech for a short period of time, part of which other guests were also standing,” Omar said in a statement. “For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with ‘Unlawful Conduct.’”
Omar said that Rahman was “aggressively handled until someone intervened to secure medical attention.”
Rahman was later taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment and eventually booked at the United States Capitol Police headquarters.
In a statement, U.S. Capitol police confirmed her arrest over unlawful conduct and disrupting Congress and said State of the Union tickets “clearly explain that demonstrating is prohibited.”
“At approximately 10:07 p.m., a person in the House Gallery started demonstrating during the State of the Union Address. The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders. It is illegal to disrupt the Congress and demonstrate in the Congressional Buildings,” the statement read.
Trump’s State of the Union came almost two weeks after the administration announced an end to Operation Metro Surge, which federal authorities said began in response to the fraud crisis in the state.
