Gold Star father arrested for heckling about his dead Marine son during Biden's State of the Union gets a hero's welcome at an Irish pub after his release from custody - as Republicans demand all the charges are 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 Abbey Gate!' 'United States Marines!' and 'Abbey Gate!' from the balcony of the House chamber in the middle of the president's remarks Thursday. 

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

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

Video posted of Nikoui after the State of the Union around 1:00 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. 

Steve Nikoui, the father of slain Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, gets a hero's welcome at the Dubliner pub on Capitol Hill after he was released from custody following his arrest for heckling Biden during the State of the Union

Gold Star father Steve Nikoui was removed from President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech 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, Calif. - one of 13 service members who were killed during the disastrous 2021 exit from Afghanistan 

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

Still, despite his release from detention, Republicans are throwing their support behind the Gold Star father. 

'My guest to [the State of the Union] was Steve Nikoui, a father whose son was killed because of Biden's incompetent Afghanistan withdrawal,' Mast posted on X Friday morning. 

'Biden wouldn't acknowledge him or take accountability for his son's death. Instead, they ARRESTED him. This is Biden's America.'

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

'That's shameful if he was arrested,' Waltz said. 'I was with the all of the Gold star families just before the speech.' 

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

Knauss said she 'almost got kicked out myself' during the speech because she was furious with Biden for failing to say her son's name and apologize for the disastrous exit from Afghanistan. 

'He has yet to say that 13 names, whether to them privately, publicly, in a speech anywhere. It's infuriating,' Waltz said.

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

The 51-year-old, who has blamed 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 would send his family photos of him with his fellow Marines outside Kabul International Airport, before the devastating suicide attack 

On Friday morning, Waltz wrote on X: 'If he's charged - and he better not be - I will pay his fine,' , a former Army Green Beret, posted on X Friday morning.

Fellow Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California - who represents the area including Camp Pendleton - posted on X, 'I stand with the Gold Star families from Afghanistan — especially my friend Steve Nikoui.' 

'He gave the only poignant speech I heard last night.'

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

'The Gold Star father who shouted at Joe Biden last night and was arrested lost his son due to Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.'

'Biden's 'leadership' has destroyed American families,' she wrote on X. 'We do not need American troops getting involved in more endless foreign wars simply to lose a generation of sons, brothers, and uncles.'