The Standing

A daily, non-partisan record of US democratic norms — and the events that erode them.

    Rep. Omar's silent State of the Union guest forcibly removed, injured, and charged

    During President Trump's State of the Union address on February 24, 2026, Aliya Rahman — a Minneapolis software engineer attending as Rep. Ilhan Omar's invited guest — stood silently in the House gallery and was forcibly removed by U.S. Capitol Police after declining to sit. Rahman, who had disclosed injured shoulders and is autistic with a traumatic brain injury, was aggressively handled, required treatment at George Washington University Hospital, and was booked and charged with "Unlawful Conduct," a misdemeanor carrying up to six months. Rep. Omar condemned the response as a heavy-handed, chilling reaction to peaceful expression and demanded a full explanation.

    Jurisdiction
    federal
    Location
    U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

    Abuses documented

    Actors

    • U.S. Capitol Police

    On the night of February 24, 2026, during President Trump's State of the Union address, Aliya Rahman — a U.S. citizen and software engineer from Minneapolis — stood up silently in the House gallery for a short period while attending as the invited guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). According to Rep. Omar's office, other guests were also standing during part of that stretch of the speech. When U.S. Capitol Police approached and asked Rahman to sit down, she declined, and officers moved to remove her from the gallery.

    Rahman, who is autistic and has a traumatic brain injury, warned officers about her injured shoulders. She was nonetheless aggressively handled during the removal, to the point that she required treatment at George Washington University Hospital before being booked at U.S. Capitol Police headquarters. She was charged with "Unlawful Conduct," a disruption-of-Congress misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to six months.

    Rep. Omar called the episode a "heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest" that "sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy," and demanded a full explanation of why the arrest occurred. NBC News independently confirmed that Rahman, who was walking with the aid of a crutch, was arrested after she stood and declined to sit during the address and that she required hospital care following the arrest.

    The event is recorded for the prosecution of brief, silent expression in a public proceeding, the expulsion of a member of the public from the congressional gallery, and the disproportionate use of force against an individual who had disclosed a physical disability.

    Why we recorded this

    The freedom to engage in peaceful, silent expression — and to do so in the public spaces where citizens witness their government — is a core First Amendment protection. The House gallery exists for the public to observe Congress, and standing quietly during a speech is the kind of mild, nonviolent dissent a healthy democracy tolerates rather than criminalizes. When law enforcement answers such an act with forcible removal, injury, and a criminal charge, it converts protected expression into a prosecutable offense and warns others that dissent in civic spaces carries physical and legal risk. That aggressive force was used against a guest who had disclosed a physical disability compounds the concern, raising the proportionality questions this entry records for the public.

    Sources

    1. Rep. Omar Statement on the Arrest of Aliya Rahman — Office of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar primary accessed June 12, 2026
    2. Minneapolis woman whom Ilhan Omar took to State of the Union needed medical care after arrest — NBC News secondary accessed June 12, 2026
    3. Ilhan Omar's Guest at Trump's State of the Union Arrested — TIME secondary accessed June 12, 2026
    4. Ilhan Omar's guest, Aliya Rahman, arrested during Trump's State of the Union — FOX 9 secondary accessed June 12, 2026

    See also