Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, visited Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the third anniversary of the suicide bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members.
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Two members of Donald Trump’s campaign staff got into a verbal and physical altercation Monday with an official at Arlington National Cemetery, where the former president is buried. attend the wreath laying ceremonyNPR knows.
A source familiar with the incident said cemetery officials tried to prevent Trump staff from filming and taking photos in the area where recent American casualties are buried. The source said Arlington officials made it clear that only cemetery staff were allowed to take photos or videos in the area, known as Section 60.
When cemetery officials tried to block Trump campaign staff from entering Block 60, campaign staffers insulted and pushed the official aside, according to the source.
Trump attended an event marking the third anniversary of a deadly attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan as the U.S. military withdrew from the country; 13 U.S. service members were killed in the attack. Trump’s campaign blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, for the chaotic withdrawal.
In a statement to NPR, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, strongly rejected the idea of a fight, adding: “We are prepared to release the footage if such defamatory claims are made.
“The truth is that a private photographer was allowed onto the premises and for some reason, an unnamed individual, who was clearly suffering from mental health issues, decided to block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” Cheung said in the statement.
The Trump campaign declined to immediately release the footage.
In a statement to NPR, Arlington National Cemetery said it “can confirm an incident occurred and has filed a report.”
“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities at the National Military Cemetery, including photographers, content creators, or any other person attending for the purpose of or directly supporting the campaign of a partisan political candidate,” the statement said. “Arlington National Cemetery has reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.”
