US military reprimands Trump campaign over Arlington National Cemetery incident

CNN —

The U.S. military has sharply reprimanded former President Donald Trump's presidential campaign following Monday's incident at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement Thursday that those attending the ceremony were briefed on federal laws regarding political activity at the cemetery and abruptly removed a cemetery worker.

Attendees at the Aug. 26 ceremony and the tour of Section 60 that followed were briefed on federal laws, Army regulations and Defense Department policies that clearly prohibit political activity in cemeteries. An ANC employee who tried to ensure compliance was abruptly removed, an Army spokesman said in a statement Thursday. Section 60 is an area of ​​the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This incident is regrettable, and it is also regrettable that the ANC employee and her professionalism have been unfairly attacked. The ANC is a national shrine to the fallen of the armed forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure that public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect that the nation's dead deserve, the statement said.

The Army spokesman said that although the incident was reported to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Police, the employee in question decided not to press charges, so the Army considers the matter closed.

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The military’s statement is a rare rebuke from a service that is loath to wade into highly political issues. It’s also not the first time a military-related controversy has erupted involving Trump, as his campaign seeks to make the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration a key election issue.

Trump was visiting the cemetery after laying a wreath in honor of 13 U.S. service members killed at Kabul’s Abbey Gate airport in Afghanistan three years ago. A video of the visit posted by the Trump campaign on TikTok showed the former president walking around Arlington and visiting graves, with an audio recording of him criticizing the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Accounts of Monday's incident have varied, with the Trump campaign insisting there was no violation of the law, while cemetery officials said they had been briefed in advance to avoid any political activity.

NPR first reported that there was a verbal and physical altercation during the cemetery tour. A source familiar with the incident told the outlet that a cemetery official tried to stop Trump's team from photographing and filming in the area where recent American victims are buried. In response, Trump campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside, according to NPR.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung denied the allegations of a physical altercation, but said an unnamed individual decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony. Cheung suggested that Trump's team had video to back up that claim, though no video of the incident has been released to date.

Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita shared a similar account with CNN, saying in a statement that President Trump was there at the invitation of Abbey Gate's Gold Star families to honor their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump's team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollow people. [sic] “People who spread these lies dishonor the men and women of our military and disrespect all those who have paid the price defending our country,” LaCivita continued.

But according to a statement from Arlington National Cemetery obtained by CNN, federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities at military national cemeteries.

The cemetery said it has reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants, which includes photographers, content creators or anyone else participating for the purpose of or in direct support of a partisan political candidate campaign.

Trump appeared to suggest that the incident stemmed from his campaign's use of the photograph, sharing a statement from family members of the fallen soldiers expressing their approval in a post on Truth Social.

We have agreed to have President Trump's official videographer and photographer attend the event, ensuring that these sacred moments of remembrance are respectfully captured and that we can cherish these memories forever, the families said.

But it wasn’t just the graves of those killed at Abbey Gate that were photographed and filmed during Trump’s visit. At least one photo posted online also shows the grave of an Army Special Forces soldier who committed suicide; his family has since said they did not give the campaign permission to do so. Master Sergeant Andrew Marckesano’s grave is next to that of Marine Master Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover.

Marckesano's sister told The New York Times that her family fully supports the families of the 13 fallen soldiers in their search for answers and accountability over the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Abbey Gate tragedy.

However, she said, according to the Times, based on our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, members of the Trump campaign did not follow the rules put in place for this visit to Staff Sgt. Hoover's grave in Section 60, which is right next to my brother's grave.

Some veterans groups have also decried the Trump campaign's political activities at Arlington, one of the most sacred burial sites for U.S. service members.

Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a statement that there are many appropriate locations for the policy, but Arlington is not one of them.

Any candidate for elected office, especially one hoping to become commander in chief, should not be mistaken about this, Jaslow said. Nor should he hide behind members of our community to justify his policies on such sacred ground.

In a post on X, VoteVets, a progressive organization that advocates for issues related to U.S. troops and veterans, said Trump was using the cemetery for political purposes.

This episode is sickening and an affront to all those hundreds of thousands of families who never accepted that their deceased loved ones were drawn into politics, the message said.

CNN's Colin McCullough contributed reporting.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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