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JTestimony: Minnesota woman with disabilities detained during ICE surge
A Minnesota woman with autism and a traumatic brain injury shared her troubling experience of being detained during an ICE operation. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the story.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis woman, whose arrest by ICE agents went viral, will not face charges related to her arrest at the State of the Union address.
Aliya Rahman also testified before national lawmakers about her treatment in ICE custody, saying she was mistreated by agents.
READ MORE: Ilhan Omar's guest, Aliya Rahman, arrested during Trump's State of the Union
No charges for Aliya Rahman State of the Union arrest
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Woman detained by ICE: 'I thought I was going to die'
Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who says she was traveling to a medical appointment for a brain injury, was released from custody on Thursday after a viral video showed federal agents dragging her from her vehicle in Minneapolis. DHS characterized her as an agitator who was blocking traffic.
What they're saying:
The attorney for Rahman, Jessica Gingold, shared the following statement:
"The government did the right thing today when it ultimately decided not to file any criminal charges against Aliya. Aliya should never have been arrested in the first place – she committed no crime and did nothing wrong. While we celebrate that no criminal case will go forward, the experience of being singled out for standing and roughly arrested has not been without its costs to Aliya and is now yet another thing from which Aliya must heal."
Aliya Rahman also shared her own written statement on not facing charges:
"The impact of this arrest has been a weight on me since the State of the Union, a particularly heavy weight considering the fact that for the second time in two months I was arrested in a heavy-handed way for committing no crime. I am grateful that the government chose not to file charges. I will continue my steadfast focus on helping my community in Minneapolis and healing from the wounds inflicted on me by my own government."
The backstory:
Rahman attended the State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Rep. Omar condemned the arrest in the following statement:
"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.’
"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."
Rahman said during an interview with "Democracy Now!" that she was arrested for "standing up, silently."
"No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs, not one sound," Rahman said.
U.S. Capitol Police Statement
The other side:
U.S. Capitol Police shared the following statement on Rahman's arrest:
"All State of the Union tickets clearly explain that demonstrating is prohibited. At approximately 10:07 p.m., a person in the House Gallery started demonstrating during the State of the Union Address. 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."
The Source: This story uses information shared by Aliya Rahman's attorney and previous FOX 9 reporting.