Steve Nikoui, the father of a Norco Marine who was killed in 2021 during the evacuation of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for interrupting President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address Thursday night, March 7, according to Capitol Police.
Nikoui’s son,Lance Cpl. Kareem Mae’Lee Grant Nikoui, 20, was one of three Inland Empire Marines killed in a suicide bombing that claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members during the chaotic final days of the U.S. presence in Kabul, Afghanistan. The other two were Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, a 20-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga and Cpl. Hunter Lopez, a 22-year-old Indio resident.
Tragedy struck the Nikoui family again the following year, when Kareem’s older brother, Dakota Halverson, took his own life at Norco’s Pikes Peak Park. Their mother, Shana Chappell, said the brothers had played there as kids.
At Thursday’s address, Nikoui yelled “Abbey Gate, Abbey Gate” during the president’s speech, a reference to the gate at Kabul airport at which the bombing occurred.
Police officers quickly removed Nikoui, 51, from the gallery, where he was a guest of Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla. Biden paused briefly during the interruption but moved on quickly.
A statement from the Capitol Police said officers had warned Nikoui to stop, and when he did not, they removed him from the chamber.
In the statement, officers said: “This is a routine charge on Capitol Hill. People who illegally demonstrate/disrupt Congress typically are released after they pay a $50 fine, so the misdemeanor charge is resolved without going to court.”
Nikoui has been a vocal critic of Biden since the death of his son. In August 2021, he told The Daily Beast that he blamed the president for the tragedy.
“They sent my son over there as a paper pusher and then had the Taliban outside providing security,” Nikoui said at the time, according to the news organization.
“I blame my own military…
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