The U.S. Army said an Arlington employee was „pushed aside“ after reports that Trump’s staff broke the rules during a visit.
An Arlington National Cemetery official was „abruptly pushed aside“ in an alternation involving former President Donald Trump’s campaign staff on Monday, the U.S. Amry said on Thursday.
Trump, the GOP presidential nominee in November’s election, was invited to Arlington—the resting place of over 400,000 U.S. service members, veterans and their families—for a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday to honor the 13 service members killed during the Afghanistan War withdrawal in 2021. His invitation was given by some of the families of the deceased service members.
There were reports that Trump’s staff shoved a cemetery official who was trying to prevent them from using photography while at Arlington, which they reportedly knew was off-limits. The Trump campaign has denied receiving any warnings about taking photographs at the site.
On Thursday, an Army spokesperson said in a statement that participants in the wreath-laying ceremony and the subsequent visit to Section 60—the burial site for service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq—“were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DOD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.“
The spokesperson continued: „An ANC [Arlington National Cemetery] employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside“, adding that it was „unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.
