Army now claims Trump aide ‘pushed’ Arlington cemetery worker in deepening row over Afghanistan Gold Star family tribute

The Army on Thursday defended a staff member at Arlington National Cemetery who clashed with Donald Trump campaign officials after they took photos and video of the former president in a restricted area of ​​the cemetery.

In a lengthy and unusual statement, the Army noted that the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) employee conducted herself “professionally” and said she was “abruptly sidelined” by Trump officials when she sought to enforce a federal law banning campaign activities at the cemetery.

However, because the employee will not press charges, the military considers the case “closed.”

It was a rare rebuke from the military about a former commander in chief. And it comes amid a deepening feud between Trump and Gold Star Families over the incident.

The families who invited the former president to join them at the cemetery have defended him, but other families who lost loved ones while serving the US have criticized Trump for posting photos and videos of the visit on his campaign accounts.

Arlington National Cemetery is considered sacred ground by the United States Army and is administered by the Army.

Trump, who is running for a second term in the White House, was invited to visit relatives on Monday of several soldiers who died three years ago when U.S. troops left Afghanistan. He was there to help them mark the anniversary of the Abbey Gate suicide bombing and honor the soldiers who died.

According to his campaign team, they had received prior permission to bring a photographer.

And officials said Axios They are considering options to release their internal footage that supports their version of the story.

They allege that a cemetery worker attempted to “physically block” members of Trump’s team during the visit and claimed the worker suffered from “mental health issues.”

“The fact is that a private photographer had access to the grounds and for some reason an anonymous individual, who was clearly suffering from mental health issues, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team from a very solemn ceremony,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign, said in a statement.

While at the cemetery on Monday, Trump laid three separate wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then walked with the families to Section 60. His campaign posted video of both parts of the visit on its TikTok account. And several aides posted photos on social media.

But the Army responded by saying that prior to the visit, the campaign had been “advised of federal law, Army regulations and Department of Defense policy that clearly prohibit political activity at cemeteries.”

“An ANC worker who attempted to ensure that these rules were adhered to was abruptly pushed aside,” an army spokesman said in Thursday’s statement.

“In keeping with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted professionally and prevented further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the military considers the case closed,” the spokesperson noted.

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC worker and her professionalism have been unfairly targeted. The ANC is a national shrine to the honoured dead of the armed forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure that public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect that the nation’s fallen deserve.”

Military officials told The New York Times that the cemetery worker feared she would face retaliation from Trump if she brought the matter to authorities at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia, which has jurisdiction over the cemetery.

Pentagon officials were very concerned that Trump would turn the visit into a campaign stop, but they also didn’t want to stop him, The Washington Post.

Officials gave the campaign “rules of the game” in an attempt to keep politics out of the picture.

Ahead of the former president’s visit, military officials told Trump’s team that he could come in his personal capacity and bring his personal aides, but not campaign staff.

The campaign workers went anyway.

“If the campaign feels the need to defend the actions of their team — which included bullying and physically pushing aside a longtime official and member of the team at Arlington working to protect the sanctity of sacred spaces — that is their business,” a defense official told The Post.

“The rules were made clear to the contestants, and these two chose to ignore those rules. End of story.”

Trump has been highly critical of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, calling it “gross incompetence.”

The visit also provided Trump with an opportunity to debunk reports that he has no respect for veterans and that he has previously called fallen World War II soldiers losers and losers, reports Trump has denied.

While at Arlington Cemetery, the former president laid three wreaths at the grave, two in honor of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee — two Marines killed in the bombing — and another wreath in honor of all 13 service members killed in the attack.

He was accompanied by Corporal Kelsee Lainhart (Ret.) and Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews, both of whom were injured in the Abbey Gate bombing.

Monday marked the third anniversary of the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

After the wreath-laying, Trump and his family went to Section 60, the final resting place for those who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The site is regularly visited by the wives and relatives of the fallen.

The media was not allowed to accompany the former president to that part of the cemetery.

Trump posed for photos with his family and laid flowers at the graves of several fallen soldiers, according to images his team posted on social media.

Although families often take photographs at the graves of their loved ones, federal law prohibits all political activity in the cemetery.

Sitting presidents have visited Section 60, but never as part of a political campaign.

The families of the fallen said they invited Trump and “approved that President Trump’s official videographer and photographer would attend the event to ensure that these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully recorded and that these memories could be cherished forever.”

But the family of a Green Beret who served eight combat missions and is buried in Section 60 raised concerns that the Trump campaign may have filmed his grave without permission.

Family members of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano told the New York Times that Trump’s campaign was not following the rules when it came to visits.

Marckesano’s grave is next to that of Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover, a Marine who died in the Abbey Gate bombing.

The Hoover family gave Trump’s team permission to film and take photos at the gravesite, but the Marckesano family did not.

Marckesano’s grave was visible in photos of the visit that were published online.

Marckesano’s sister Michele told the Times: “We fully support the family of Sergeant Darin Hoover and the other families in their search for answers and accountability regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the tragedy at Abbey Gate.”

“However,” she added, “according to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, Trump campaign staff did not adhere to the rules that were set up for this visit to Staff Sergeant Hoover’s grave in Section 60, which is directly adjacent to my brother’s grave.”

She continued: “We hope that visitors to this sacred place will realize that these were real people who made sacrifices for our freedom and that they will be honored and respected accordingly.”

Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 400,000 military personnel, veterans and their families.