Ilhan Omar guest arrested for standing at Trump’s State of the Union address | State of the Union address

Ilhan Omar guest arrested for standing at Trump’s State of the Union address | State of the Union address


A guest of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, was arrested by Capitol police throughout the State of the Union address.

Omar had invited Aliya Rahmana US citizen and Minneapolis resident who in January was removed from her car and dragged by immigration brokers in the metropolis as half of the Trump administration’s elevated efforts to arrest and deport alleged undocumented immigrants. The officers had been shouting at her to maneuver.

“I’m disabled, trying to go to the doctor up there. That’s why I didn’t move,” Rahman advised officers as they pulled her from the automobile at the time. The officers brought about her shoulder accidents, she later mentioned.

During Donald Trump’s speech, Rahman “started demonstrating,” which violated guidelines for the occasion, in keeping with the Capitol police.

“The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders,” the police mentioned in a press release. “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 said.

Federal brokers seize Aliya Rahman to pull her out of her automobile in Minneapolis in January. Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

Rahman advised the Democracy Now broadcast on Wednesday that she had been standing silently earlier than she was arrested.

“No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound,” Rahman mentioned. “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.”

When requested about Rahman’s declare that she was standing silently, a Capitol police spokesperson advised the Guardian in an e mail: “It’s not allowed. She was told to sit. She refused. It’s simple.”

In a press release Omar known as for an investigation into the arrest. “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. For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with ‘unlawful conduct,'” she mentioned.

She added: “Reports indicate she was aggressively handled until someone intervened to secure medical attention. She was taken to George Washington University hospital for treatment and later booked at the United States Capitol police headquarters.

“The heavy-handed response to a peaceable guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I’m calling for a full clarification of why this arrest occurred.”

During his speech Trump attacked public officials in sanctuary cities for blocking the “removal of criminal aliens,” Omar also shouted at Trump: “You have killed Americans.”

Two US residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, had been shot and killed in January by federal legislation enforcement officers in Minneapolis.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Trump said to lawmakers who did not stand to show support for his immigration enforcement efforts. Republicans loudly cheered.

The Capitol police stated that Omar and other legislators who protested during the speech were not arrested because they were protected by the speech or debate clause of the constitution.

“All State of the Union tickets clearly explain that demonstrating is prohibited,” the police stated.

Omar said on CNN on Wednesday that Rahman was “back and safe” following the arrest and hospital visit.

Before the address, Omar said in an interview on MS Now that she invited Rahman, who suffered shoulder injuries during the incident, to show “what the ICE occupation has meant for our constituents and the actual hurt that this administration has brought about. Even although they promised to create security in our communities, they’ve created chaos, violence and terror.”

Rahman, a software engineer, was asked during the interview what she would tell Trump and lawmakers who support his policies.

“I would say to them, they were elected to come up with policies and ways to govern this country that make people’s lives better, right? They were not elected to point at folks they would like to construct as enemies so they don’t have to do their jobs.”

Omar’s press workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

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