Charges have reportedly been dropped against Steve Nikoui, the father of the late Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, after he was arrested for interrupting President Joe Biden’s
State of the Union address earlier this month. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed the charges against Mr. Nikoui have been dropped, according to
Fox News. The office of Brian Schwalb, the
Democratic Attorney General in
Washington, also told the publication it had opted not to pursue charges against Mr. Nikoui. The Epoch Times has contacted Attorney General Schwalb’s office for further comment. Mr. Nikoui’s 20-year-old son Kareem was among 13 U.S. service members killed when an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated explosives near Abbey Gate terminal at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in
Kabul on Aug. 26, 2021. His death occurred during a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from
Afghanistan. Following his comments, Mr. Nikoui was removed from the chamber and arrested by Capitol
police. Speaking to DailyMail.com a week after his arrest, Mr. Nikoui said he felt compelled to stand up and disrupt President Biden’s speech after he failed to mention the names of the soldiers killed near Abbey Gate. “He knew that there were other Gold Star family members, he could of at least just said their names and this would have been done,” the father said of the U.S. leader. “I’ve waited three years, I paid $3,000 ... and I’ve traveled 3,000 miles just to finally hear my son’s name in the State of the Union,” he added. Multiple
Republican lawmakers, including Mr. Mast—who is himself a
MILITARY veteran— and Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) had urged officials to drop the charges against Mr. Nikoui following his arrest.