Aliya Rahman, a Minnesota woman whom Congresswoman Ilhan Omar brought as her guest to the state of the union address on Tuesday, said she needed hospital treatment after she was arrested during U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech.
Rahman, who was pulled out of her car by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month in Minneapolis after being accused of impeding an ICE operation, stood up during Trump’s speech when he called on Democrats to restore funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Everyone around Rahman, who according to her congressional testimony is a disabled person with autism and a traumatic brain injury, remained seated as she stood up during that part of the speech. When U.S. Capitol Police approached her and asked her to sit down, Rahman refused.
Capitol police took Rahman from the gallery above the House floor and started to pull her toward the exit before arresting her for unlawful conduct and disrupting Congress, which is punishable with a fine of up to US$500 and up to six months in prison, the New York Times reports.
Aliya Rahman is removed from the House chamber as President Donald Trump delivers the state of the union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Rahman, who was using a crutch to help her walk, told Democracy Now! that she was in the custody of Capitol police and then she went to the hospital, where she remained until just before 4 a.m.
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“I was not just removed and arrested. I was arrested so physically that two other attendees upstairs attempted to intervene in officers pulling on my shoulders after I told them I have a torn rotator cuff tendon and multiple cartilage tears in both of my shoulders,” she said.
She said she was told she was arrested because she “was standing up.”
“Silently. No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs. Not one sound. Standing up,” she added.
“There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up. All kinds of people were standing up all night. Me, too.”
Aliya Rahman is removed from the House chamber as President Donald Trump delivers the state of the union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Rahman said her arrest aggravated a torn rotator cuff and cartilage tears that she claims she sustained as she was dragged out of her car last month by several masked ICE agents while she was on the way to an appointment for her brain injury.
In a statement to the Guardian, Capitol police said Rahman “started demonstrating during the State of the Union,” which violated rules for guests.
Rahman “was told to sit down but refused to obey our lawful orders,” according to the police.
During Rahman’s detainment last month, she shouted, “I’m disabled, I’m trying to go to the doctor up there, that’s why I couldn’t move. I am an autistic disabled person, I’m trying to go to the doctor.”
Protesters in the streets blew their whistles and yelled at the ICE agents as they were seen dragging Rahman away.
Federal law enforcement agents detain a motorist from a vehicle during a raid in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.
Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
During a congressional testimony on Feb. 3, Rahman said the impacts of the Department of Homeland Security detention have been “very severe” on her physical, mental and financial well-being.
“Our nation lacks rules and accountability around what a person claiming to be law enforcement can do to another human being, and I am not afraid to keep working on this problem even after ICE is gone,” she said.
Omar spoke out against the arrest of Rahman on Wednesday, saying that being charged with a crime for standing up during Trump’s speech “sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy.”
“My guest, 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. For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with ‘Unlawful Conduct,” Omar wrote 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 heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest occurred.”
During Trump’s speech on Tuesday, Omar and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan criticized Trump as he touted his administration’s hardline immigration crackdown and enforcement actions.
Both Omar and Tlaib shouted “you’re killing Americans” at Trump during his speech, with Omar also calling him a “liar.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reacts as President Donald Trump gives his state of the union address to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said the two lawmakers “had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized.”
“We should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible,” Trump added. Both Omar and Tlaib are U.S. citizens.
— With files from Reuters
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