When the former president attended a memorial with the families of American service members slain in the 2021 airport attack in Kabul while the country was withdrawing from Afghanistan, an aide to Donald Trump “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, an Army spokesperson said on Thursday.
According to two Defense Department sources, the Trump associate shoved the cemetery staffer aside so that he could pass and take pictures and videos at Section 60, which is home to the remains of service people killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Although military police were summoned and completed an incident report, it is unlikely that they will look into the situation further. Officials added that even though they got to the scene while Trump’s motorcade was still there, they were unable to get a formal statement from his staff.
According to an Army spokeswoman, the cemetery staff member has decided not to file charges and the Army has concluded the case.
According to the spokesman, the cemetery holds these kinds of public rituals around 3,000 times a year without any problems.
“It was made plain to participants in the ceremony on August 26 and the ensuing Section 60 visit that political activities are expressly forbidden on cemetery grounds by federal laws, Army rules, and DoD policies,” said a spokesperson. “An ANC staff member who made an effort to make sure that these guidelines were followed was quickly ignored. In keeping with the ANC code of conduct, this employee behaved professionally and prevented more disruptions.”
Following the reporting of the incident to military police, the employee made the decision not to pursue legal action. The statement described the incident as “unfortunate” and added that “It is regrettable that the ANC employee has been subjected to unjust criticism of her professionalism.” As a result, the Army considers this subject closed. ANC is a national shrine to the Armed Forces’ honored dead, and its committed staff will keep making sure that public ceremonies are held with the honor and dignity that the country’s fallen deserve.”
When contacted for comment on Thursday, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, stated that the reports were untrue.
“Untrue. Not a shred of truth, and this individual is a liar,” he declared. “This employee, who was there, was the one who made the uncalled-for and unnecessary physical contact.”
When asked about the Army’s statement, Cheung responded, “It was this person who first engaged in uncalled-for and gratuitous physical and verbal abuse.”
The graveyard verified on Tuesday that there had been an event during Trump’s visit when he and the relatives of the victims commemorated the third anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate, which claimed the lives of thirteen servicemen.
The two Trump campaign employees got into an altercation with a cemetery official who attempted to stop them from filming, which is normally prohibited in Section 60, according to the first report by NPR.
Earlier this week, Cheung stated that the campaign was prepared to make video available to bolster its denial of certain report details.
In a statement, Cheung stated, “We are willing to release video if such defamatory charges are made, as there was not the physical altercation that was reported.” “The truth is that a private photographer was allowed access to the property, and during a very serious ceremony, an unidentified person—experiencing a mental health crisis—decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team for whatever reason.”
In a subsequent statement on X, he clarified that Trump was authorized to have a photographer present. In addition to Trump posting a TikTok video of the event, Trump’s campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita shared a video of Trump placing flowers at a tomb on X.
“Political partisan activities” are prohibited by federal regulations during memorial services held at Army cemeteries.
Trump officials received guidelines from Arlington National Cemetery a few days ago, which detailed what they could and could not do in the cemetery on Monday. NBC News was able to secure these guidelines.
For example, the rules stipulated that family and guest visits to gravesites were to adhere to the cemetery’s established Section 60 policies. “Photographers, content providers, and anyone else attending the [Arlington National Cemetery] installation for the intention of, or in direct support of, a partisan political candidate’s campaign is not allowed,” said another guideline given to Trump’s advisors.
According to NBC News on Wednesday, Trump was asked to participate in the memorial service by family members, and he took a picture next to Marine Staff Sgt. Darin “Taylor” Hoover’s grave. Kelly Barnett, Hoover’s mother, told NBC News that she approved of the visit being recorded.