Graves with Memorial Day flags are seen in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., on May 27.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The US Army said an employee at Arlington National Cemetery who tried to “ensure compliance” with regulations prohibiting political activities at the cemetery “was abruptly pushed aside,” but the employee decided not to press charges against Trump campaign staffers who allegedly pushed her.
Thursday’s statement came in response to NPR’s reporting on former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington and an altercation between his staff and a cemetery employee.
“Participants in the August 26 ceremony and subsequent Section 60 visit were informed of federal law, Army regulations, and Department of Defense policy, which expressly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” the statement said. “An ANC employee who attempted to ensure compliance with these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the courtesy expected of the ANC, the employee acted professionally and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH Police Station, but the employee subsequently decided not to file a complaint. The Army therefore considers this matter to be resolved.”
In its statement, the Army called the incident “unfortunate” and added: “It is unfortunate that the ANC staff and their professionalism have been unfairly attacked.”
Because federal law prohibits military personnel from participating in any political campaign, cemetery staff did not work directly with the Trump campaign on his visit there. A source familiar with the event said cemetery staff worked with staff for Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, who joined Trump at Arlington.
Arlington Cemetery staff worked directly with Mast’s chief of staff, James Langenderfer, briefing him on the rules, including no campaign events at the cemetery. They also reiterated that only an official Arlington National Cemetery photographer—and no campaign photographers—would be allowed at Section 60, where recent Americans died. Langenderfer told them the Trump campaign had agreed to the rules, the source said.
NPR reached out to Mast’s staff and asked if Langenderfer was informed and relayed that information to the Trump campaign. They did not respond to questions, instead issuing a statement.
“President Trump did not take any political action at Arlington National Cemetery,” Mast said in a statement to NPR.
The statement comes a day after Trump shared a TikTok video featuring footage from Arlington National Cemetery, potentially violating federal laws against using military cemeteries for campaign purposes.
NPR reported that Trump campaign staff got into a scuffle with an Arlington National Cemetery employee on Monday over the restriction.
This is not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military, but the campaign is seeking to downplay what happened next.
Trump was in Arlington on Monday to mark the third anniversary of the attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 US service members during a disastrous withdrawal. Trump and other Republicans blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris for the chaos and loss of life.
The Video is 21 seconds long posted on Trump’s TikTok account shows the former president laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several clips of Trump and Gold Star family members at the graves of their loved ones in one part of the cemetery known as Section 60.
“We lost 13 great, great people — what a horrible day,” Trump said over somber music. “We hadn’t lost a single person in 18 months, and then they take over the disaster, leave Afghanistan.”
Trump has made this claim for about 18 months without a single military casualty during his many years in office, and that is not true There were no combat-related deaths in Afghanistan in the 18-month period from February 2020 to August 2021, some of which were while Biden was in office.
The Trump campaign was not allowed to film or take photos under Section 60, a federal law that prohibits the use of military cemeteries for campaign events, and two campaign staffers got into physical and verbal altercations with Arlington staff when they tried to stop the filming.
In a statement following NPR’s original story, family members present Monday said they invited Trump and approved his photographer and videographer to capture the emotional moment of remembrance.
Several members of this family also spoke at the Republican National Convention, criticizing Biden and publicly supporting Trump.
“Joe Biden may have forgotten that our children died, but we haven’t forgotten — Donald Trump hasn’t forgotten,” Cheryl Juels said in Milwaukee at the RNC in July. Juels is the aunt of Sergeant Nicole Gee, one of 13 US service members killed at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan in 2021.
“Joe Biden owes the men and women who served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude and an apology. Donald Trump loves this country and will never forget the sacrifice and courage of our service members,” she added. “Please join us in bringing him back to the White House.”
Although loved ones said they agreed to the cameras being installed, the family has no power to overturn the rules.
The family of Staff Sergeant Andrew Marckesano, a Green Beret who committed suicide after serving multiple combat tours and is buried at Section 60, said that according to their conversations with the cemetery, “Trump campaign staff did not follow the rules set for this visit.”
“We hope that those who visit this sacred site understand that real people made sacrifices for our freedom and that they are to be honored, respected and treated accordingly,” they said in a statement.
Trump campaign responds
The Trump campaign’s response to the Arlington visit has been one of discomfort. A spokesman said the cemetery worker was “clearly suffering from a mental illness” and promised to release footage of the encounter but has so far refused to do so.
On the campaign trail in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio said Harris could “go to hell” over the Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed reporters for the campaign controversy, which he called “dissension.”
“You guys in the media, you’re acting like Donald Trump shot a TV commercial at a grave,” Vance said. “He was there to give moral support to a lot of brave Americans who lost loved ones that they should never have lost. And there happened to be a camera there, and someone gave him permission to put that camera there.”
Trump reiterated that argument on Thursday, ramping up his attacks on Harris and Biden in a clip posted on his campaign’s Trump Social account from a campaign event in Michigan.
“She has no respect for you, ask the families of the 13 incredible military heroes who died during the surrender in Afghanistan – where Kamala and ‘Sleepy Joe’ surrendered – if Kamala Harris cares about our young people and our military,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who attended events in Arlington with Trump, apologized in a social media post for sending a campaign fundraising email with a photo of him and the former president in the 60th Precinct with the family of Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover.
Governor Cox’s official X account posted a photo from the restricted area and the post is still online.
This is not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military for personal gain. He has been accused of referring to dead soldiers as ““idiot” and “loser”” insulting the late Senator John McCain for being a prisoner of war and recently controversial for saying that civilians who receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom are much better off than those who receive the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest military award, which is usually awarded posthumously.
