Steve Nikoui is the father of a soldier who died. Kareem Nikoui, who died in a terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. Marines in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Nikoui, 51, was the man who interrupted President Joe Biden's State of the Union address by shouting “Abbey Gate” and “United States Marines,” then was removed from the building. According to Fox News, Nikoui’s son was a Marine lance corporal who died in the attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan in 2021, along with 12 other U.S. service members.
You can read a round-up of all of the U.S. service members killed in the Kabul attack here.
The incident of Nikoui shouting at Biden was recorded on video. was recorded on video.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Steve Nikoui Was Arrested After He Refused to Stop Shouting ‘Abbey Gate’ at President Joe Biden, Reports Say
According to Fox News, Nikoui was taken into custody by Capitol Police. A widely circulated photo showed him under arrest.
Nikoui” was confronted by security during his outburst, who demanded he stop. He refused and continued shouting,” Fox News reported.
According to Fox News, he was then “removed from the House Galleries and arrested by Capitol Police on the misdemeanor charge of Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding.”
Nikoui was a guest of Florida U.S. Rep. Brian Mast at the State of the Union.
“Steve Nikoui, the father of fallen Marine LCpl. Kareem Nikoui, was my guest to #SOTU2024,” Mast wrote after Nikoui’s arrest. “He was arrested because he cried out to @JoeBiden to remember his son. Joe Biden has never honored those killed at the Abby Gate and still hails the catastrophic withdrawal as a success!”
Mast also wrote on X, “My guest to #SOTU was Steve Nikoui, a father whose son was killed because of Biden’s incompetent Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden wouldn’t acknowledge him or take accountability for his son’s death. Instead, they ARRESTED him. This is Biden’s America. Please spread the truth ASAP!”
2. Video Showed Steve Nikoui Being Embraced by Supporters After He Was Released
WATCH: STEVE NIKOUI IS FREED!!!!
Thank you @RepBrianMast!!!!!!! https://t.co/N2ps242yre pic.twitter.com/lKY1yyaVlO
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 8, 2024
Video also showed Nikoui after he was released.
Axios reported that the charge Nikoui is facing “carries a fine of up to $500 and 90 days in prison.”
The Capitol Police told Axios, “Tonight at approximately 10:15 p.m., a man disrupted the State of the Union Address by yelling. Our officers warned him to stop and when he did not, the man was removed from the House Galleries and was arrested.”
The Capitol Police told The New York Times, “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.”
3. Kareem Nikoui ‘Always Wanted to Be a Marine,’ His Dad Says
FacebookShana Chappell with her son, Kareem Nikoui
Kareem “loved what he was doing, he always wanted to be a Marine,” said Nikoui, to the Daily Beast.
“He was born the same year it started, and ended his life with the end of this war,” Nikoui said of his son, to Reuters, talking about the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan that started in 2001.
According to Reuters, Steve Nikoui resides in Norco, California.
4. Steve Nikoui, who works as a Carpenter in California, has criticized Joe Biden in the past, stating that the President ‘Abandoned’ his Son
FacebookKareem Nikoui
This is not the first time Nikoui has criticized Biden after his son’s death.
Steve, a carpenter from California, condemned Biden and U.S. military leaders during an interview with the Daily Beast, as reported by the Daily Beast as a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
“They deployed my son there for a non-combat role and then relied on the Taliban for security outside. I hold accountable my own military leaders… Biden abandoned him. That’s all,” he told the Daily Beast.
Shana Chappell, Kareem's mother, has also censured Biden. “He is a total disgrace to our country and so is anyone who supports him! #impeachbiden ASAP . The entire Biden administration needs to be removed ASAP!!!” Chappell wrote on her Instagram page.
5. Steve Nikoui Has Described Being ‘Fixated on the TV,’ Unsure of His Son’s Fate
Nikoui first learned about the terrorist attack from television, but initially, he didn't know if his son was safe or not.
“I stayed home from work yesterday because of the attack and I knew he was there,” Nikoui said to The Daily Beast. “So I spent the whole day watching TV.”
In a matter of hours, Marines arrived at his doorstep with the tragic news. “I was actually trying to comfort them. But at the same time, I just wanted them to leave quickly so that no one from my family returned and saw them. I felt it was right that I should be the one to inform them,” he informed the Daily Beast.
