WASHINGTON ― When President Donald Trump wished “happy birthday” to a World War II veteran who had just turned 100, Aliya Rahman stood up to clap.
When Trump made racist comments about Minneapolis’ Somali community, saying they hail from cultures “where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm,” Rahman stood up again, not clapping, and saying nothing.
This is pretty standard fare for attending a State of the Union address, which Rahman did on Tuesday night, as the guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). Knowing they’re on national TV, members of Congress spend the whole night calculating when to stand up and clap in support of something the president says, or when to decidedly not stand up, in a display of disagreement. Their guests and others seated in the balcony above sometimes stand up at moments, too.
Except on Tuesday, Rahman was arrested for it.
It’s as bonkers as it sounds. Rahman, a Bangladeshi American software engineer based in Minneapolis, says she and others seated near had already stood up several times before police officers approached her and told her she “couldn’t stand up.” She didn’t think they were serious, but moments later, they grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her out.
“I just stood up,” Rahman said in an interview. “I stood silently, with no signs. I was not blocking anyone’s view of the hall. And then I was arrested.”
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Her shoulders were already injured. Last month, Rahman, who is autistic and has physical disabilities, was driving to a doctor’s appointment in Minneapolis when federal Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers surrounded her car, smashed in her window, dragged her out and locked her up at a federal detention center where she claims she experienced severe medical neglect and violence at the hands of ICE officers, requiring hospitalization for assault.
An eyewitness captured her incident on film, and footage of Rahman’s violent encounter with ICE went viral. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and she was testifying to Congress about the abuse she endured that day that she believes nearly killed her.
Some women sitting near Rahman at the State of the Union recognized her from her testimony, and tried to intervene as she was being dragged out. One was an attorney who asked if Rahman needed one. Another was Dr. Anita Patel, who was a guest of Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and who knew of Rahman’s injuries.
“She stood up silently, did not make a noise, and was [descended] upon as if she was a criminal while she wore an n95 mask and used a cane,” Patel wrote in a Thursday Instagram post.
“I jumped over the railing and said, ‘You need to let her go. She has bilateral shoulder injuries. She has a traumatic brain injury, and she’s neurodivergent,’” Patel said in the video she posted. “They subsequently continued to pull her. Then I got in front of them. They told me, either I step aside or I get dragged out with her.”
Patel added: “Don’t let them twist her story into something that it’s not.”
Rahman says after she was ejected from the event, Capitol Police officers handcuffed her, took away her cane and held her in a stairwell. They wouldn’t say if she was under arrest, and as they jerked her around by her shoulders, she repeatedly asked for her cane. One officer responded, “You are walking,” meaning she didn’t need her cane.
“Bullying, intimidating, not listening,” Rahman said. “Who takes a cane away from a disabled person? I’m trying to slow them down. I’m not resisting, I’m disabled.”
Officers were aggressive enough with her that she had to be taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment after they dragged her from the event. She was later booked at U.S. Capitol Police headquarters.
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Rahman said she suspects she was singled out because she was the guest of Omar, a frequent critic of Trump and someone routinely targeted with racist attacks by this administration.
In a statement, U.S. Capitol Police said Rahman was arrested for “demonstrating.”
“At approximately 10:07 p.m., a person in the House Gallery started demonstrating during the State of the Union Address,” reads their statement. “The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders. It is illegal to disrupt the Congress and demonstrate in the Congressional Buildings, so 43-year-old Aliya M. Rahman of Minneapolis, MN, was arrested for D.C. Code §10-503.16 – Unlawful Conduct, Disruption of Congress.”
A Capitol Police spokesperson further said standing up is considered a form of demonstration.
“Yes – standing (not just standing monetarily with the crowd) is a form of demonstration,” the spokesperson said in an emailed message. “The officers had no idea what her background was or whose guest she was. They told her to sit down multiple times. She refused. It’s simple.”
HuffPost requested a copy of the Capitol Police report on Rahman’s arrest, but was told they aren’t available to the public.
Rahman’s attorney, Jessica Gingold of the MacArthur Justice Center, said it is “unprecedented” for someone to be ejected from a State of the Union address for standing up silently, never mind being criminally charged for it. The charge can come with up to six months in prison. They’re hoping to get the case tossed before Rahman’s hearing takes place.
“Our reading of the statute, we’re assuming it’s the part about uttering ‘loud, threatening or abusive language,’ or engaging in ‘disorderly or disruptive conduct,’” Gingold said of the D.C. code. “She did none of that. She stood up.”
She noted “many other people” have been outspoken in past State of the Unions, and for some reason, “Aliya is a uniquely situated person, the only one charged with this kind of offense.”
“Our strong belief is this should be dismissed,” Gingold said.
Omar, too, condemned police officers’ treatment of Rahman.
“The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy,” the Minnesota congresswoman said on social media. “I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest occurred.”