Shana Chappell, the mother of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, posted on her Facebook account that would love for former President Donald Trump to attend the funeral service for her son, who is set to be laid to rest on September 18.
Nikoui was one of the U.S. service members who was killed in a terrorist attack while his unit was securing Hamid Karzai International Airport during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Department of Defense blamed ISIS-K for the attack. A total of 13 service members were killed with at least 18 wounded.
"Thank you President Trump for your beautiful response to me. I would love if [somehow] my President ( you Mr. Trump) could be present as i lay my Beautiful baby boy Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui to rest. It would be such an honor to meet the real President of the United States of America, President Trump. I love you and America loves you," Chappell wrote. "Thank you all so much for honoring my son Kareem Nikoui, thank you all for your love and support. Thank you all for using your words and your accounts to get me my account back. Much love to you all! Stay strong! Now is the time we fight back and we don’t stop until we have our country back on her feet!"
In response, Trump put out a new statement with a screenshot of Chappell's Facebook post, saying, "Thank you Shana—our Country loves you and especially loves your beautiful boy, Kareem."
After Chappell posted criticism of President Joe Biden, her Facebook and Instagram accounts were temporarily taken down. Facebook restored the accounts, saying the ban was done in error.