Trump team engaged in ‘incident’ with Arlington cemetery staff
The event allegedly included an employee being shoved and subjected to verbal harassment.
TroibNews 
A confrontation occurred between members of the Trump campaign and Army personnel at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday as former President Donald Trump participated in a photo session in an area dedicated to troops who have died in recent conflicts.
The altercation, which involved both verbal abuse and the physical pushing of a cemetery employee, unfolded during Trump's visit on the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which tragically coincided with the deaths of 13 service members due to a Kabul airport bombing.
According to NPR, which cited an informed source, the incident took place in Section 60, where political or campaign-related photography is prohibited by federal law. The report detailed that Trump’s campaign staff pushed and verbally assaulted an employee attempting to obstruct their photographer.
Following the contentious photo session, Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
A statement from the cemetery confirmed the altercation and reiterated the federal restrictions on political activities in military cemeteries, highlighting that photography supporting political campaigns is expressly forbidden. "Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities" at such sites, the cemetery's statement underlined.
In response, Trump adviser Chris LaCivita stated, “for a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump's team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung acknowledged the incident but dismissed claims of any altercation. "The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony," Cheung detailed.
Cheung also shared communications on X on Wednesday, showing that while the campaign was advised against adding more photographers, they were permitted a personal photographer, although it was not specified if this included access to the gravesite. Efforts from the cemetery staff to manage the visit effectively with the Trump campaign were mentioned.
JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, downplayed the controversy during a Wisconsin event, remarking on the media’s portrayal of the event. “It is amazing to me that you have apparently somebody at Arlington Cemetery, some staff member had a little disagreement with somebody and the media has turned this into a national news story,” Vance commented.
Mark Esper, former Trump Defense Secretary, on CNN on Wednesday, advocated for an investigation into the matter, emphasizing that Arlington has stringent rules against using the cemetery for political purposes. “The principle is that no person or party [on] either side should ever use Arlington National Cemetery or any of our cemeteries or battlefields for partisan political purposes, or break the so-called rules,” Esper explained.
This incident adds to previous controversies involving Trump and his comments about the military, notably his statement on Aug. 15 that compared the civilian President Medal of Freedom favorably against the military’s Medal of Honor, which drew sharp criticism from the Veterans of Foreign Wars for being derogatory toward military honors and their recipients.
The contribution to this article was made by Mia McCarthy.
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
The altercation, which involved both verbal abuse and the physical pushing of a cemetery employee, unfolded during Trump's visit on the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which tragically coincided with the deaths of 13 service members due to a Kabul airport bombing.
According to NPR, which cited an informed source, the incident took place in Section 60, where political or campaign-related photography is prohibited by federal law. The report detailed that Trump’s campaign staff pushed and verbally assaulted an employee attempting to obstruct their photographer.
Following the contentious photo session, Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
A statement from the cemetery confirmed the altercation and reiterated the federal restrictions on political activities in military cemeteries, highlighting that photography supporting political campaigns is expressly forbidden. "Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities" at such sites, the cemetery's statement underlined.
In response, Trump adviser Chris LaCivita stated, “for a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump's team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung acknowledged the incident but dismissed claims of any altercation. "The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony," Cheung detailed.
Cheung also shared communications on X on Wednesday, showing that while the campaign was advised against adding more photographers, they were permitted a personal photographer, although it was not specified if this included access to the gravesite. Efforts from the cemetery staff to manage the visit effectively with the Trump campaign were mentioned.
JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, downplayed the controversy during a Wisconsin event, remarking on the media’s portrayal of the event. “It is amazing to me that you have apparently somebody at Arlington Cemetery, some staff member had a little disagreement with somebody and the media has turned this into a national news story,” Vance commented.
Mark Esper, former Trump Defense Secretary, on CNN on Wednesday, advocated for an investigation into the matter, emphasizing that Arlington has stringent rules against using the cemetery for political purposes. “The principle is that no person or party [on] either side should ever use Arlington National Cemetery or any of our cemeteries or battlefields for partisan political purposes, or break the so-called rules,” Esper explained.
This incident adds to previous controversies involving Trump and his comments about the military, notably his statement on Aug. 15 that compared the civilian President Medal of Freedom favorably against the military’s Medal of Honor, which drew sharp criticism from the Veterans of Foreign Wars for being derogatory toward military honors and their recipients.
The contribution to this article was made by Mia McCarthy.
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
