Ilhan Omar Says Her SOTU Guest Was Arrested and Hospitalized During Trump’s Speech

AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is demanding an explanation as to why her guest was arrested at Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

Omar’s guest was Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who in January was forcibly dragged from her car by federal immigration agents in Minnesota amid the ongoing immigration crackdown. Rahman was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when she found herself in a traffic jam. Rahman said agents gave her conflicting orders before they violently pulled her from her vehicle. Video of the incident went viral and sparked outrage.

Rahman told Democracy Now! on Wednesday that she was removed from the House chamber during President Donald Trump’s address, and that the Sergeant-at-Arms told her it was “because I was standing up silently — no buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound. Standing up.” She added that she was hospitalized after being removed.

Omar expressed outrage in a statement.

“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.

Omar called the removal “heavy-handed” and demanded “a full explanation of why this arrest occurred.”

Omar herself did not make it through the president’s speech, though she left voluntarily. She and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) heckled Trump during the address as he railed against “illegal aliens.”

On Wednesday, Trump said the two lawmakers – both of whom are U.S. citizens – should be sent “back from where they came.”

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