Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is demanding answers after her invited guest to the State of the Union was arrested and removed from the House gallery during President Donald Trumps address..
According to Mediaite, Omars guest, Aliya Rahman, is a U.S. citizen who was previously thrust into the national spotlight after federal immigration agents in Minnesota forcibly dragged her from her car in January during a traffic jam as she headed to a medical appointment. Rahman has said agents issued her conflicting orders before they violently pulled her from the vehicle, an encounter captured on video that quickly went viral and fueled outrage among immigration activists.
Rahman told Democracy Now! that during the State of the Union she was taken out of the chamber and later informed by the Sergeant-at-Arms that it was because I was standing up silently no buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound. Standing up. She further stated that she was hospitalized after being removed from the gallery.
Omar, a prominent member of the progressive Squad, issued a sharply worded statement condemning the treatment of her guest. 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 congresswoman said.
The Minnesota Democrat labeled the removal heavy-handed and demanded a full explanation of why this arrest occurred, framing the incident as part of a broader pattern of aggressive enforcement under the current administration. Omar herself did not remain for the entirety of the Presidents speech, leaving after she and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) heckled Trump as he denounced illegal aliens.
On Wednesday, President Trump escalated his criticism of the two lawmakers, both naturalized U.S. citizens, saying they should be sent back from where they came. The clash underscores the widening divide between left-wing Democrats who routinely attack immigration enforcement and a President whose supporters expect firm border control and respect for the rule of law inside the very chamber where this confrontation unfolded.
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