Updated August 29, 2024 at 15:25 PM ET
The U.S. Army said an employee at Arlington National Cemetery who tried to "ensure adherence" to rules that prohibit political activities at the cemetery "was abruptly pushed aside," but that the employee decided not to press charges against the Trump campaign staffers who allegedly pushed her.
The statement Thursday comes in response to NPR's reporting on former President Donald Trump's visit to Arlington and an altercation his staff had with a cemetery employee.
"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," the statement said. "An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed."
The Army, in its statement, called the incident "unfortunate," adding: "it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked."
The statement comes a day after Trump shared a TikTok video including footage from Arlington National Cemetery that likely violates a federal law against using military cemeteries for campaigning purposes.
NPR reported Trump campaign staffers had a physical altercation with an Arlington National Cemetery staffer on Monday over the restriction.
It’s not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military, but the campaign is seeking to downplay what happened in the aftermath.
Trump was at Arlington Monday to commemorate the third anniversary of an attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. servicemembers amidst the disastrous withdrawal of troops. Trump and other Republicans have blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris for the chaos and loss of life.
The 21-second video posted on Trump's TikTok account shows the former president laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several snippets of Trump joining Gold Star family members at gravesites of their loved ones in a part of the cemetery known as Section 60.
“We lost 13 great great people, what a horrible day it was,” Trump says over somber music. “We didn’t lose one person in 18 months and then they took over the disaster, the leaving of Afghanistan.”
But the Trump campaign was not authorized to film or photograph in Section 60, federal law prohibits the use of military cemeteries for campaign events, and two campaign staffers got in a physical and verbal altercation with the Arlington staffer who tried to prevent the filming.
In a statement after NPR’s original story, family members present Monday said they invited Trump and gave approval for his photographer and videographer to document an emotional moment of remembrance.
Some of those family members also spoke at the Republican National Convention, bashing Biden and vocally endorsing Trump.
“Joe Biden may have forgotten that our children died, but we have not forgotten, Donald Trump has not forgotten,” said Cheryl Juels in Milwaukee at the RNC in July. Juels is the aunt of Sgt. Nicole Gee, one of the 13 killed at Abbey Gate in 2021.
“Joe Biden owes the men and women that served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude and an apology. Donald Trump loves this country and will never forget the sacrifice and bravery of our service members," she added. "Join us in putting him back in the White House.”
Though the loved ones said they were OK with the cameras present, the families do not have the power to suspend the rules.
The family of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano, a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving multiple combat tours and who is buried in Section 60, said according to their conversations with the cemetery, “the Trump campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit.”
“We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that there were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected and treated accordingly,” they said in a statement.
The Trump campaign responds
In the aftermath of the visit to Arlington, the Trump campaign response has taken on a tone of nastiness. One spokesman said the cemetery staffer was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode,” promising to release footage of the encounter but so far declining to do so.
On the campaign trail in Pennsylvania Wednesday, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said Harris could “go to hell” over the Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed reporters for the campaign’s controversy that he called a “disagreement.”
“You guys in the media, you're acting like Donald Trump filmed a TV commercial at a gravesite,” Vance said. “He was there providing emotional support to a lot of brave Americans who lost loved ones they never should have lost. And there happened to be a camera there, and somebody gave him permission to have that camera there.”
Meanwhile, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who attended the Arlington events with Trump, apologized in a social media post for sending a campaign fundraising email with a photo of him and the former president in Section 60 with the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover.
Cox’s official gubernatorial X account posted a photo from the restricted area, and the post is still online.
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