Gold Star dad arrested for making a fuss about his dead Marine son during Biden’s State of the Union address gets a hero’s welcome in an Irish pub after his release — as Republicans demand all charges be dropped

Republicans are demanding charges be dropped against a Gold Star father who was arrested for heckling Biden during his State of the Union address.

Steve Nikoui, the father of slain Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui shouted ‘Remember the Abbey Gate!’ “United States Navy!” and ‘Abbey Gate!’ from the balcony of the House of Representatives chamber, in the middle of the president’s remarks Thursday.

His son, Kareem, was killed by a suicide bomber during the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

After yelling at Biden from the guest seat, Nikoui was removed from the chamber by Capitol Police and later arrested. But the arrest did not last long.

Video of Nikoui after the State of the Union around 1 a.m. shows him entering an Irish pub to loud applause after the lawmaker who brought him, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., helped secure his release.

Gold Star father Steve Nikoui was removed from President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address for shouting about his son’s death in Afghanistan

The 51-year-old was quickly removed from the public gallery and placed in handcuffs

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California – one of 13 soldiers killed during the disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan

The video shows Nikoui receiving a hero’s welcome as his friends chant his name and smother him with hugs.

Still, despite his release from detention, Republicans continue to back the Gold Star father.

“My guest at (the State of the Union) was Steve Nikoui, a father whose son was murdered because of Biden’s incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Mast posted on X on Friday morning.

“Biden did not want to acknowledge him or take responsibility for his son’s death. Instead, they arrested him. This is Biden’s America.”

Shortly afterward, the State of the Union DailyMail.com asked Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., a former Army Green Beret, for his reaction to Nikoui’s arrest.

“It’s a shame if he gets arrested,” Waltz said. “I was with all the Gold Star families right before the speech.”

Waltz herself invited Gold Star mother Paula Knauss, who similarly invited her son, Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, after the explosion at the Afghanistan airport.

Knauss said she “almost got kicked out herself” during the speech because she was furious with Biden for not saying her son’s name and not apologizing for the disastrous exodus from Afghanistan.

“He has not yet said those thirteen names, either privately, publicly, in a speech anywhere. It’s infuriating,” Waltz said.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla. posed with Nikoui before entering the House chamber. He also invited a Gold Star mother to the speech

The 51-year-old, who blames Biden for his son’s death, was quickly removed from the public gallery and placed in handcuffs. The father and son are pictured together

Nikoui sent his family photos of him with his fellow Marines outside Kabul International Airport, before the devastating suicide bombing

Waltz wrote on

Fellow Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California – who represents the area, including Camp Pendleton – posted on X: “I stand with the Gold Star families of Afghanistan – especially my friend Steve Nikoui.”

“He gave the only moving speech I heard last night.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also weighed in on Nikoui’s arrest.

“The Gold Star father who yelled at Joe Biden last night and was arrested lost his son to Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

“Biden’s ‘leadership’ has destroyed American families,” she wrote on