Bangladeshi released after arrest during Trump speech; Rep. Ilhan Omar demands investigation

Noman Sabit: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the arrest of her Bangladeshi guest at Tuesday’s State of the Union address, who was removed from the House chamber after standing to protest President Donald Trump’s words.

Omar said the guest, Minneapolis resident Bnagladeshi 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.” Following Rahman’s arrest by Capitol Police, she was charged with unlawful conduct; according to Omar’s office, Rahman was released early on Wednesday morning. Rahman, a U.S. citizen and Bangladeshi American software engineer, was forcefully removed from her car by immigration enforcement agents as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged undocumented immigrants in January. She said at a congressional forum that she was injured during the detention, and now no longer has full use of her arms. On Wednesday, Omar said in a statement that Rahman was “forcibly removed” from the House gallery “despite warning officers about her injured shoulders.”

In a statement, the Capitol Police office said that all State of the Union tickets “explain that demonstrating is prohibited.” Capitol Police said Rahman began “demonstrating” at around 10:07 p.m. — nearly an hour before the president ended his remarks — and that she ignored multiple requests to sit down.

“It is illegal to disrupt the Congress and demonstrate in the Congressional Buildings,” Capitol Police wrote. Omar said on Wednesday that Rahman was “aggressively handled” until someone intervened to get her medical attention. Rahman, a traumatic brain injury survivor, was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment and, after she was released, was booked at the Capitol Police headquarters, Omar said.

“The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy,” Omar said in her statement. “I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest happened.”

On Wednesday, Rahman spoke to the news program “Democracy Now!” about her arrest, saying she was making no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs and no sounds when she was arrested.

“There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are, sit down and stand up,” she said. “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.” In January, video of Rahman being aggressively pulled out of her car by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis went viral. The incident escalated condemnation of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota, which led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good.

Earlier this month, Rahman was among U.S. citizens who testified before congressional leaders about the aggressive tactics of federal immigration enforcement agents. She described her encounter with federal agents in detail, saying she became trapped in a traffic jam of Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles while driving to her doctor’s appointment in Minneapolis on Jan. 13. Agents asked her to move her vehicle, then shattered her car window and dragged her from the vehicle before taking her into custody, she said.

“I yelled, ‘I’m disabled,’” she said. “And the agent said, ‘Too late.’” During the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump celebrated his administration’s immigration enforcement actions, but made no mention of the Pretti and Good’s deaths, or of the many U.S. citizens who have been negatively impacted by the enforcement operations.

Omar, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), openly heckled Trump in response to his rhetoric on immigration, demanding that he take accountability for the deaths of Pretti and Good, and for the aggressive actions some immigration enforcement agents have taken against U.S. citizens.

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