(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb decided to drop the criminal charges against Gold-Star father Steve Nikoui for his emotional heckling of President Joe Biden during this month’s State of the Union address.
Fox News reported that the attorney general, citing past cases, decided not to proceed with the charges against Nikoui. This came after Nikoui criticized the pending charges in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“No charges have been dropped,” he said, hours before the charges were dismissed. The God-Star father expressed little surprise at the lack of action from the Biden-led DOJ in his criminal case.
Steve Nikoui, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, one of the service members killed during Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, attended the State of the Union and cried out to Biden to remember his son.
Steve was arrested and charged for interrupting the… pic.twitter.com/Z1HZDvJcXG
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) March 19, 2024
The dropped charges stem from Nikoui’s visible distress as Biden discussed national security measures during the State of the Union on March 7.
The man who shouted and got forcibly removed from #SOTU was Steve Nikoui.
His son Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui was killed in Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. He shouted “13 Marines”.
The gaslighting about Americans being safe must have infuriated him. pic.twitter.com/2jtNcsQMQq
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) March 8, 2024
Rising from his seat, Nikoui repeatedly shouted “Abbey Gate!”—a reference to the gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, where a terrorist attack claimed the life of his son, Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, along with 13 others on August 26.
“Abbey Gate! Kareem Nikoui! Second Battalion, First Marines!” Nikoui continued to shout, disregarding demands from U.S. Capitol Police to cease the heckling.
Following his outburst, Nikoui was escorted out of the venue and subsequently charged with misdemeanors related to “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.”
The arrest of Nikoui drew the ire of Americans concerned about accountability for the U.S. government’s actions during the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, which saw the Taliban regain control. In response to the arrest, a fundraiser for a memorial fund in honor of Nikoui’s son raised over $6,365.
Nikoui had attended the State of the Union address as a guest of Rep. Brian Mast, R-FL, who remarked after the arrest, “Mr. Nikoui lost his son due to Joe Biden’s incompetence, and lost another son to grief over his brother being killed.”
Mast condemned the charges against Nikoui as a “disgrace,” later adding: “This man and his family have given America more than I could personally bear and to attack him with a BS charge of ‘demonstrating’ is a disgrace.”
No father should have to bury his son, yet my State of the Union guest Steve Nikoui had to bury 2 because of Joe Biden’s failures.
To add insult to injury, Steve was ARRESTED for protesting Biden’s REFUSAL to even acknowledge his son. Biden’s America is dystopian. pic.twitter.com/Mklzri5VIg
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) March 14, 2024
Nikoui joined other Gold-Star parents in an emotional gathering at a D.C. restaurant following his arrest. Among hugs and praises, a woman expressed, “We’re so proud of you.”
WATCH: Steve Nikoui’s fellow Gold Star Families give him a hero’s welcome after he is freed from his completely deranged arrest by @CapitolPolice ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ https://t.co/uLSjSwmpQA pic.twitter.com/MFdlrmSMfC
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 8, 2024
