Trump Campaign and Arlington Cemetery Staff Clash at Event
A wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery became controversial when members of former President Donald Trump’s campaign had a "dispute" with cemetery staff over filming in a restricted burial area for military members.
Cemetery officials have publicly revealed little beyond acknowledging that "an incident" occurred and "a report was filed." The altercation took place when a Trump staffer attempted to film in an area designated as off-limits, and a cemetery employee tried to intervene.
Trump’s campaign has denied the allegations, asserting that they had received permission from the families of the fallen soldiers to film. However, federal law prohibits political campaign activities in military cemeteries.
Trump was at the memorial to honor the 13 U.S. service members who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago. An anonymous source informed NPR that Trump’s staff was trying to film and photograph a section of the cemetery where recent American casualties are buried. Federal regulations restrict recording in this area, and cemetery officials had previously informed Trump’s team that photography and filming were prohibited in this part of the grounds.
When the cemetery employee attempted to stop the campaign from entering this restricted section, the campaign staff allegedly verbally abused the employee and pushed him aside, according to the anonymous NPR source. Defense officials told CBS, a BBC news partner in the U.S., that some Trump campaign staff were unprofessional and aggressive, both verbally and physically, toward the cemetery employee.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, denied any physical altercation and stated that the campaign was ready to release a video to support their version of events. The campaign shared some images of the visit on social media on Tuesday, but the purported altercation was not included.
In his statement, Cheung claimed: "The fact is that a private photographer was allowed at the site, and for some reason, an anonymous individual, who was clearly having a mental health episode, decided to physically block President Trump’s team members during a very solemn ceremony."
Arlington National Cemetery stated that it would not release further information or the identity of the involved worker to protect the individual. According to U.S. media reports, the employee declined to press charges out of fear of retaliation from Trump supporters, as reported by The New York Times.
Questions About Filming
On Truth Social, Trump shared a statement from the families of the fallen soldiers honored at the event, expressing their approval. The families stated: “We had given our approval for President Trump’s official cameraman and photographer to attend the event, ensuring that these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and that we could cherish these memories forever.”
However, this contradicts federal policy, according to a spokesperson for Arlington National Cemetery. U.S. law prohibits political campaigns or election-related activities on military cemetery grounds, including photographers, content creators, or anyone directly supporting a partisan political candidate.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who is running for re-election, also attended the ceremony and posted a photo of himself with Trump and the family of Sergeant Darin Hoover, who died during the withdrawal. He was later criticized for using the photo in a campaign email, leading him to issue an apology through X, acknowledging that the photo should not have been used: "This was not a campaign event and was never intended to be used by the campaign."
Sergeant Hoover’s grave is next to that of Sergeant Major Andrew Marckesano, who died by suicide after six missions in Afghanistan in 2020. Sergeant Marckesano’s sister stated that despite her family’s support for the Hoover family, Trump’s campaign staff "did not adhere to the rules established for this visit" and urged visitors to remember that those buried there were "real people" who deserved to be "honored and respected."
