Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Ilhan Omar’s Guest Aliya Rahman Charged After SOTU Removal as Disabled Activist Alleges Targeting

Capitol Police say she refused orders during a prohibited demonstration.

Overview

  • Rahman told Newsweek officers pulled her from the House gallery, dragged her to a secluded stairwell, and tried to take her cane despite her warnings about torn shoulder tendons.
  • U.S. Capitol Police said State of the Union tickets prohibit demonstrating and that she was arrested for unlawful conduct after refusing to sit when ordered at about 10:07 p.m.
  • Her attorney called the prosecution unprecedented for someone who simply stood up and said they will seek dismissal after she received a citation release with a first court date.
  • Rep. Ilhan Omar said Rahman was aggressively handled, taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment, and later booked at Capitol Police headquarters.
  • Rahman, a disabled U.S. citizen with autism who testified this month about injuries and conditions after a January ICE encounter in Minneapolis, denies disrupting the speech and suggests she was singled out for speaking out.