A guest of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, was arrested by Capitol police during the State of the Union address.
Omar had invited Aliya Rahman, a US citizen and Minneapolis resident who in January was removed from her car and dragged by immigration agents in the city as part of the Trump administration’s increased efforts to arrest and deport alleged undocumented immigrants. The officers had been shouting at her to move.
“I’m disabled, trying to go to the doctor up there. That’s why I didn’t move,” Rahman told officers as they pulled her from the car at the time. The officers caused her shoulder injuries, she later said.
During Donald Trump’s speech, Rahman “started demonstrating”, which violated rules for the event, according to the Capitol police.
“The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders,” the police said in a statement. “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 stated.
Rahman told the Democracy Now broadcast on Wednesday that she had been standing silently before she was arrested.
“No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound,” Rahman said. “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 asked about Rahman’s claim that she was standing silently, a Capitol police spokesperson told the Guardian in an email: “It’s not allowed. She was told to sit. She refused. It’s simple.”
In a statement Omar called 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 said.
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 peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I am calling for a full explanation 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 citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, were shot and killed in January by federal law 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 lawmakers 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 real harm that this administration has caused. Even though they promised to create safety in our communities, they have 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 office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
