It wasn’t too long ago that a man was arrested during Joe Biden’s latest State of the Union address. Since then, the charges have been dropped.
According to Fox News, the accused, Steve Nikoui, was invited to the formal address by Florida Republican Representative Brian Mast. Mast had been in contact with Nikoui over the death of his son, one of the Marines to have lost his life serving in Afghanistan during Biden’s disastrous military withdrawal from the Middle Eastern nation.
Naturally, Nikoui holds some resentment.
And so, during the address, he began shouting “Abbey Gate,” disrupting Biden’s speech.
At first, he was warned by Capitol Police. Then, after continued disruptions, he was taken into custody. In a statement made that evening by USCP, it was noted that “Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in Congressional Buildings is illegal.”
However, in the days since Washington DC, Attorney General Brian Schwalb has decided not to press charges.
If you weren’t aware, “Abbey Gate” refers to the airport gate in the Hamid Karzai International Airport where a homicide bomber detonated a device on his belt, blowing up a crowd of both military personnel and civilians, including Nikoui’s son, Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui of California.
Thirteen, including the young Nikoui, were killed.
Fox reported that while several House members, mostly Republicans, had backed Nikoui and asked for the charges to be dropped, the decision lay solely on Schwalb. These include California Republican Representative Darrel Issa, Mast mentioned above, House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul, and Florida Representative Michael Waltz.
When Nikoui was told of the dropped charges, Fox noted that he was “thrilled and humbled.”
Of course, it doesn’t do much to bring his son back, does it?
