Trump’s Arlington Cemetery event was a ‘flagrant violation’ of law, officials say

Donald Trump’s campaign has been warned not to take photos during a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to honor service members killed in the Afghanistan war withdrawal, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Despite those warnings, two members of Trump’s campaign “abruptly shoved” a cemetery employee who tried to stop them from filming Monday at the most sacred of all final resting places for those who served. The ceremony took place in Section 60 of the cemetery, the site of military personnel who died while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Arlington National Cemetery routinely hosts public wreath-laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for individuals and groups who submit requests in advance,” the U.S. Army said in a statement released Thursday. “The CNA conducts nearly 3,000 such public ceremonies annually without incident. Participants in the Aug. 26 ceremony and subsequent Section 60 visit were informed of federal laws, Army regulations and Department of Defense policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. A CNA employee who attempted to ensure compliance with these rules was abruptly removed. Consistent with the decorum expected at the CNA, this employee acted with professionalism and prevented further disruption.”

The U.S. Department of the Army, which runs Arlington National Cemetery, said the incident was reported to police, but the employee ultimately decided not to press charges.

Photos of Trump posted on TikTok show him smiling and giving a thumbs-up sign next to the gravestone of Marine Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, alongside members of the fallen soldier’s family, NPR reports. It’s exactly what military officials tried to avoid.

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Hoover and 12 other service members were killed along with more than 100 Afghans in the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Critics have slammed the Biden administration for the catastrophic evacuation, saying it should have begun sooner.

The Trump campaign’s use of images from Arlington Cemetery marked a flagrant violation of the law against partisan actions at military cemeteries, defense officials said.

According to NPR, the campaign may have had permission to film Hoover’s grave marker, but it did not have permission to film the other two gravestones that appeared in the campaign footage. One of the gravestones belongs to a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who committed suicide. The Trump campaign did not respond to questions about the other gravestones.

What does the Trump campaign say?

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the Republican presidential candidate’s team had obtained permission to have a private photographer and denied allegations that a campaign staffer shoved a cemetery official. He accused the cemetery staff member of having a “mental health episode.”

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“The fact is that a private photographer was allowed into the venue and for some reason, an anonymous individual, who was clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” he said.

Cheung also said the campaign would release images to back up its claim, but has not done so. Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign, called the Arlington cemetery worker a “despicable individual.”

“For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is disgraceful and unworthy of representing the hallowed Arlington National Cemetery,” he said in a written statement, misspelling the word “hallowed.” “Whoever this individual is, spreading these lies dishonors the men and women of our armed forces.”

In its statement Thursday, the U.S. military called it “unfortunate” that the employee “was unfairly targeted.”

“The ANC is a national shrine to the honoured fallen of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated personnel will continue to ensure that public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect due to the nation’s fallen,” the Army said.

What is Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery?

Arlington National Cemetery was established on May 13, 1864, in the midst of the Civil War. It was built on Arlington Estate, land that the federal government had seized from the family of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The cemetery is home to service members from all branches of the U.S. military. More than 400,000 soldiers are buried there.

Section 60 is a special 14-acre burial site for military personnel who died in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 900 soldiers are buried in Section 60.

Repercussions of the Arlington incident

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia has called on cemetery officials to release more information about what happened Monday. Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox also faced criticism Wednesday for including a photo of himself and Trump at the Arlington ceremony in a campaign email soliciting donations for his reelection bid.

Cox’s campaign apologized for using the photo and politicizing the graveside service.

“This was not a campaign event and was never intended to be used by the campaign,” the governor wrote in a post on X. “It did not go through the proper channels and should not have been sent.”