Army says Trump aide ‘abruptly pushed’ Arlington National Cemetery employee

WASHINGTON — The Army said Thursday that an aide to former President Donald Trump “abruptly pushed” an Arlington National Cemetery employee who had tried to enforce restrictions on taking photos and videos at part of the cemetery this week.

Trump and his campaign team on Monday visited the cemetery in the Virginia suburbs of Washington with relatives of the victims who died in the terrorist attack at Abbey Gate at Kabul airport during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The attack killed 13 US servicemen and about 170 Afghan civilians.

An Army spokesman defended the employee in a statement, saying that participants in the memorial ceremony had been “informed of federal laws, Army regulations and Department of Defense policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.”

The employee “who attempted to ensure compliance with these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the spokesperson said. “In keeping with the decorum expected of the ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.”

“This incident was regrettable, and it is also regrettable that the ANC employee and her professionalism have been unfairly targeted,” the spokesperson added. “The ANC is a national shrine to the fallen of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure that public ceremonies are held with the dignity and respect that the nation’s fallen deserve.”

The statement provided more details about what happened as the controversy continues into its third day. The Trump campaign has sought to dismiss reports of the clash, which could threaten to undermine Trump’s efforts to burnish his image as a defender of the military while criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

The Army spokesman said the incident was reported to military police, but the employee decided not to press charges and the Army considered the matter closed. The statement said the cemetery routinely holds wreath-laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for individuals and groups who submit requests in advance — nearly 3,000 such public ceremonies a year — “without incident.”

Asked for comment Thursday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said reports that an aide pushed the cemetery employee were not true.

“False. Not even remotely true, and this person is a liar,” she said. “As someone who was there, this employee was the one who initiated the physical contact that was unwarranted and unnecessary.”

Asked about the Army’s statement, Cheung said: “This individual was the one who initiated the physical contact and verbal harassment that was unwarranted and unnecessary.”

In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump responded on camera for the first time to criticism of his cemetery visit, saying one family “asked me whether or not I would stand for a picture at the grave of their loved one who should not have died.”

Trump said he did not initiate the photo. “When I was there, I did not ask for a photo,” he said. “When I was there, they said, ‘Sir, could we take a photo by the grave?’”

At a campaign rally in Michigan on Thursday, Trump later said the event at Arlington National Cemetery was not about campaigning.

“I go there, they ask me for a photo and say I was campaigning. All I get is a lot of publicity. I don’t need that,” he said.

The cemetery confirmed Tuesday that an incident had occurred during Trump’s visit. Two Defense Department officials told NBC News that Trump’s aide pushed the cemetery employee to take photos and video in Section 60, where service members who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.

Although military police arrived while Trump’s motorcade was there, police did not obtain a formal statement from his team, defense officials said.

Federal regulations prohibit “partisan political activities” at memorial services at Army cemeteries.

Arlington National Cemetery provided Trump officials with rules days ago outlining what they could and could not do at the cemetery.

The rules, obtained by NBC News, state that graveside visits by family members and guests must comply with the cemetery’s established Section 60 policies. They also state that “photographers, content creators, or any other person attending for the purpose of or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign are NOT permitted on the (Arlington National Cemetery) property.”

NPR first reported that two Trump campaign staffers had a confrontation with a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and taking photographs, which is normally restricted by Section 60.

Cheung said this week that the campaign was prepared to release a video to support its denial of some of the details in the report.

“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release images if any such defamatory claims are made,” Cheung said in a statement. “The fact is that a private photographer was allowed onto the premises and for some reason an anonymous individual, who was clearly suffering from a mental health issue, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

In a statement, Trump said he had permission for a photographer to be present. Trump posted a TikTok video of the ceremony and his co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, also posted a video of Trump placing flowers on a grave.

NBC News reported Wednesday that Trump was invited by family members to attend the memorial, where he posed for a photo next to the grave of Marine Sgt. Darin “Taylor” Hoover. Hoover’s mother, Kelly Barnett, told NBC News that she gave permission for the visit to be documented.