Capitol Police confirm disrupting Congress is just a $50 fine

I had no intention of watching the SOTU, preferring instead to scan the headlines this morning for key takeaways, but this one caught my eye:

HuffPost via AOL reports this morning:

Steve Nikoui, whose son in the Marines was killed during the 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan, screamed at President Joe Biden as he gave his State of the Union speech. Nikoui was arrested.

Nikoui seemed to yell ‘Marines’ and ‘Abbey Gate,’ referring to the site of a terrorist attack where Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui and 12 other American troops died as the U.S. military pulled out of Kabul.

TV footage captured the elder Nikoui’s outburst that caught the attention of Biden as the president talked about America being safer under his leadership. Nikoui is then shown being escorted out of the gallery.

Nikoui was charged with a misdemeanor for Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding, ABC News reported. Capitol Police said it had warned Nikoui to stop before taking action.

‘This is a routine charge on Capitol Hill. People who illegally demonstrate/disrupt Congress typically are released after they pay a $50 fine, so the misdemeanor charge is resolved without going to court,’ officers wrote, per The New York Times.

Well, there we have it.  J6 prisoners need only pay a $50 fine and be released with a misdemeanor charge.

According to Politico though, hundreds of J6ers have not been charged with felonies, but instead misdemeanors like Nikoui because they simply wandered around the Capitol committing no acts of violence nor threatening anyone; yet they have had to suffer the weight of far more severe penalties including large fines and months of incarceration. Politico even notes their misdemeanor-level charges as “Parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building” — which doesn’t sound much different than “illegally demonstrate/disrupt Congress”.  Where is the justice?

Image from X.