(The Hill) – The Trump campaign is blaming an Arlington National Cemetery official for a reported confrontation during the former president’s visit there on Monday to mark the anniversary of the attack on Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. troops during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The incident, first reported by NPR, stemmed from the presence of a photographer at former President Trump’s camp, as well as broader concerns about election-related activities at a military cemetery.
Arlington National Cemetery confirmed that an incident had occurred and a report had been filed, but did not provide further details.
“Federal law prohibits political campaigning or election-related activities at Army National Cemetery military cemeteries, including photographers, content creators, or others who are there for the purposes of or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the cemetery said in a statement. “Arlington National Cemetery has emphasized this law and its prohibitions and has communicated it widely to all attendees. We can confirm that there was an incident and a report was filed.”
NPR quoted an anonymous source as saying: reported a cemetery official attempted to block Trump staff from filming and taking photographs in an area of the cemetery known as Section 60, where soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried. The source told NPR that Trump staff pushed the officer aside as they tried to block campaign staff from entering the area.
Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, denied that there had been a physical altercation “in the sense described.”
“The fact is that a private photographer was allowed onto the premises and for some reason an unnamed individual, obviously suffering from a mental disorder, decided to physically block the path of members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” Cheung said in a statement.
Cheung shared a screenshot of a message on social media that he said was confirmation that Trump would be allowed to have “an official photographer and/or videographer outside the main media pool.”
In a separate statement, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign and a Marine Corps member himself, claimed that a person tried to “physically prevent” Trump’s team from accompanying him on Monday.
“Whoever spreads these lies dishonors the men and women of our armed forces and shows no respect for all who have paid the price to defend our country,” LaCivita said.
The Trump campaign also released a statement from family members of Darin Taylor Hoover and Nicole Gee, who were among the victims of the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing, which also killed an estimated 170 Afghan civilians.
“The President and his team have behaved with the utmost respect and dignity toward all of our soldiers, especially our beloved children,” the five family members said.
Trump took part in a wreath-laying ceremony Family members of some of the 13 U.S. soldiers killed at Kabul airport also attended a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday to commemorate the third anniversary of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
After laying the wreath, Trump went with some of his family members to Section 60. This part was closed to the press, although Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R), who was there on Monday, posted a photo with Trump and some family members giving the thumbs up at the cemetery.
Trump and his campaign have repeatedly attacked President Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal, calling it the “most embarrassing moment” in the country’s history and trying to make it a campaign issue. Trump and his allies have continued these attacks since Vice President Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, pointing to Harris’ own comments that she was the last person in the room when Biden made his final decision on the withdrawal.
Family members of the 13 soldiers killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal spoke on stage at the Republican National Convention last month, where they criticized Biden and said Trump had shown more compassion for their loss than the incumbent.
Tara Suter contributed.
