Campaign Reacts to Incident at Arlington Cemetery

A visit to Arlington National Cemetery by Donald Trump’s campaign turned contentious, raising questions about decorum and lawfulness.

At a Glance

Incident at the cemetery involving Trump’s campaign staff and an employee.
Confrontation happened after a wreath-laying ceremony for fallen service members.
Federal laws prohibit political activities within the cemetery.
Trump’s campaign denied physical altercation allegations.

Altercation at Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery officials reported an incident involving Donald Trump’s campaign staff allegedly shoving and verbally abusing an employee. This confrontation occurred during a visit to honor 13 U.S. servicemen and women killed in a 2021 suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Arlington officials have made it clear that only cemetery representatives are permitted to take video and photographs in Section 60, where many recent U.S. casualties are buried. The cemetery has reiterated that federal law prohibits political campaign activities within the grounds of Army National Military Cemeteries.

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the statement said, adding that “a report was filed” over the incident.”

Conflicting Accounts

Trump’s staffers reportedly verbally abused and pushed an official who tried to prevent them from accompanying Trump into Section 60. However, the Trump campaign denied these allegations, accusing the employee of experiencing a mental health episode. Senior campaign officials defended their actions while criticizing the Arlington staff member.

“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” said Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung. Cemetery officials confirmed there was an incident and a report was filed but did not provide details to protect the employee’s privacy.

“Cemetery officials publicly offered few details beyond saying ‘there was an incident’ and a ‘report was filed’.” – BBC News

Public Reactions

The incident sparked a public outcry, with Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu condemning Trump’s actions as a “crass campaign stunt.” On the other hand, JD Vance dismissed the incident as media exaggeration and criticized Kamala Harris for how the Biden-Harris administration handled the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Two Trump campaign officials engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with an Arlington Cemetery staff member during former Trump's visit on Monday, Arlington National Cemetery has confirmed. https://t.co/G3E7JAxcET

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 28, 2024

Different Perspectives

While federal law clearly prohibits political activities at Army National Military Cemeteries, Trump’s campaign stated that they had obtained permission from families of fallen service members to film. Trump later shared a statement from these family members on Truth Social, expressing their approval for the filming.

“We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event, ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever,” the families said in Trump’s Truth Social post.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper called for an investigation into the incident, emphasizing that cemetery grounds should not be used for partisan purposes.

What we know about the alleged altercation at Arlington National Cemetery involving the Trump campaign.

With new reporting.

“What was abundantly clear cut was: Section 60, no photos and no video,” one defense official tells me.https://t.co/8xuiRw36I1

— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 28, 2024