Representative Ilhan Omar on Wednesday condemned the arrest of a guest she brought to the State of the Union, saying that being charged with a crime for standing up in the gallery during the president’s address “sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy.”
Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who was dragged from her vehicle after an ICE agent shattered its window during President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, attended the president’s speech on Tuesday night at the invitation of Ms. Omar. As Mr. Trump was speaking, Ms. Rahman was seen being escorted from the gallery above the House floor by Capitol Police officers. She could be heard shouting for someone to call Ms. Omar, and that all she had done was stand up.
Ms. Rahman, 43, Ms. Omar and the U.S. Capitol Police said in separate statements that Ms. Rahman had been charged with unlawful conduct by disrupting Congress. The misdemeanor charge is punishable with a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in prison.
Ms. Rahman — who is disabled and has autism, according to a written statement she provided to Congress earlier this month — told Democracy Now in an interview that the arrest aggravated injuries that she had sustained when federal agents dragged her from her vehicle last month while she was headed to an appointment for a traumatic brain injury.
After her arrest on Tuesday night, Ms. Rahman was taken to a hospital before being booked at Capitol Police headquarters, according to her and Ms. Omar’s statements.
Ms. Rahman told Democracy Now that she had been standing “silent, arms by my side,” during Mr. Trump’s remarks before Capitol Police officers took her into custody. She said officers were “pulling on my shoulders after I told them I have a torn rotator cuff tendon and multiple cartilage tears in both of my shoulders.”
Ms. Rahman added that officers stopped pulling on her only after a sergeant intervened in a back stairwell.
The Capitol Police did not respond to questions about Ms. Rahman’s account of the arrest or her hospital visit. An unsigned statement from the Capitol Police said that “all State of the Union tickets clearly explain that demonstrating is prohibited” and “the guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders.”
Both Ms. Rahman and Ms. Omar noted that other guests in the gallery above the House floor had stood up at times during Mr. Trump’s speech. The statement from the Capitol Police did not address whether any other people had been standing during the remarks.
Ms. Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who has strongly condemned the president’s immigration policies, had herself moved to disrupt Mr. Trump’s speech on Tuesday night. “You’ve killed Americans!” she yelled at him. Mr. Trump retorted: “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
In a social media post on Wednesday, Mr. Trump attacked Ms. Omar, along with Representative Rashida Tlaib, another Democratic Muslim-American lawmaker, as “low IQ,” adding that during the speech they “had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS.”
In her statement, Ms. Omar said that “the heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest occurred.”
Chris Cameron is a Times reporter covering Washington, focusing on breaking news and the Trump administration.
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