US Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery

By CNN

Published August 29, 2024 10:44 AM

CNN

By Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — The US Army issued a stark rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over the incident on Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement on Thursday that participants in the ceremony “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity at the cemetery, and “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of the cemetery.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army spokesperson said in the statement on Thursday. Section 60 is an area in the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve,” the statement said.

The Army spokesperson said while the incident was reported to the police department at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the employee in question “decided not to press charges” so the Army “considers this matter closed.”

The Army’s statement is a rare rebuke from a military service that loathes to get in the middle of highly political issues. It’s also not the first time there has been a controversy involving Trump related to the military as his campaign looks to make the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration a key election issue.

Asked about the Army’s statement on Thursday, deputy Pentagon press secretarySabrina Singh said the Defense Department is “aware of the statement that the Army issued, and we support what the Army said.”

Trump was visiting the cemetery following a wreath laying to honor 13 US military service members who were killed at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate in Afghanistan three years go.

A video of the visit posted by the Trump campaign on TikTok showed video of the former president walking through Arlington and visiting grave sites, with audio of him criticizing the Biden administration’s “disaster” of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Accounts of the incident on Monday have varied, with the Trump campaign insisting there were no violations of the law, while cemetery officials have said they were told ahead of time to avoid political activity.

NPR first reported that there had been a “verbal and physical altercation” during the cemetery visit. A source with knowledge of the incident told the outlet that a cemetery official attempted to prevent Trump’s team from photographing and filming in the area where recent US casualties are buried. In response, Trump campaign staff “verbally abused and pushed the official aside,” according to NPR.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung disputed claims 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 has video to back up the claim, though no video of the incident has been released yet.

Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita shared a similar account with CNN, saying in a statement that “President Trump was there on the invitation of the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families to honor their loved ones who gave 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 hollowed [sic] grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Whoever this individual is spreading these lies are dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for 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 within Army National Military Cemeteries.

The cemetery said it “reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” which includes “photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”

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

“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.

However, it wasn’t just the graves of those killed at Abbey Gate that were featured in photo and video from Trump’s visit. In at least one photo posted online, the grave of an Army Special Forces soldier who died by suicide is also featured; his family has since said they did not give the campaign permission to do so. The grave of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano, a Silver Star recipient, sits next to that of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover.

A statement from Marckesano’s sister on behalf of their family said that while they supported families of the 13 fallen “in their quest for answers and accountability regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal and the tragedy at Abbey Gate,” the Trump campaign “did not adhere to the rules” of Section 60.

“[A]ccording to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump Campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit to SSGT Hoover’s grave site in Section 60, which lays directly next to my brother’s grave,” the statement from Michele Marckesano said. “We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly.”

Some veterans groups have also spoken out about the Trump campaign conducting political activity at Arlington — one of the most sacred burial grounds for US service members.

Charlie Iacono, the president and CEO of the Green Beret Foundation, said Thursday that the foundation “stands in full support of the statements provided by the Marckesano family. Every soul laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery and other military cemeteries across the globe deserve to have the policies that honor them upheld and the appropriate protocols followed, ensuring that their legacies are never forgotten.”

Allison Jaslow, the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a statement that there are “plenty of places appropriate for politics — Arlington is not one of them.”

“Any aspiring elected official, especially one who hopes to be Commander in Chief, should not be confused about that fact,” Jaslow said. “Nor should they hide behind members of our community to justify politicking on such sacred ground.

In a post on X, VoteVets, a progressive organization that advocates for issues relating to US troops and veterans, said Trump was using the cemetery “for political purposes.”

“This whole episode is sickening and (an) affront to all those hundreds of thousands of families who never agreed to allow their deceased loved ones to be dragged into politics,” the post said.

The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN on Thursday that he’d “had to intervene to get former President Donald Trump into Arlington National Cemetery.” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul also told CNN that he’d reached out to Johnson’s office about the issue after being contacted by Darin Hoover and Kelly Barnett, the parents of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who was killed at Abbey Gate. McCaul said Arlington had given the family members “a hard time about coordinating a ceremony on the anniversary of their children’s death with President Trump.”

CNN’s Colin McCullough, Brian Todd and Haley Talbot contributed reporting.

This story has been updated with additional details.