Republican lawmakers rally around Gold Star father arrested after heckling Biden at SOTU | 8 March 2024 | Republican lawmakers mobilized behind the Gold Star father arrested after heckling Joe Biden during the State of the Union address on Thursday. Steve Nikoui, the father of a U.S. Marine killed by a suicide bomber during the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, stood up and repeatedly shouted, "Abbey Gate," in reference to the attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport that occurred during the military's exit from the country. Nikoui shouted after Biden said, "America is safer today than when I took office." Capitol Police escorted Nikoui out of Biden's address and arrested him. Republicans have since taken to social media to rally around the Gold Star father.