Army defends employee linked to Trump campaign altercation at Arlington National Cemetery

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The US Army has defended the Arlington National Cemetery employee who was “abruptly pushed aside” during an altercation with Donald Trump’s campaign staffers on Monday.

The official filed an incident report with the military after the alleged incident on Monday with Trump’s campaign staff, according to The New York Times. The altercation began when she tried to stop them from taking photos and videos in a section of the cemetery where American service members who recently died are buried.

“An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the US Army said in a statement, defending the employee. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”

The employee has not been identified and decided not to press charges for fear of backlash from MAGA supporters, theTimes reported.

The incident, first reported by NPR, took place while Trump was attending a commemoration ceremony for 13 US service members killed in the 2021 terror attack at Abbey Gate, outside Kabul Airport, during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The cemetery official tried to prevent Trump campaign staffers from taking photos and videos in the area, named Section 60, and two of them verbally abused and pushed her to the side, a source told the outlet.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” the US Army’s statement said.

“An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.”

When reached for comment by The Independent, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung denied that there had been any physical altercation and vowed to release a video to back it up.

He also suggested the official who tried to block Trump staffers from entering Section 60 was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.”

Trump also shared a statement from some family members of the 13 dead service members, claiming he and his team “conducted themselves with nothing but the utmost respect.”

This isn’t the only controversy involving Trump at the cemetery. He also sparked fury from veterans, military groups and soldiers’ families for posing with his thumbs up and grinning at a soldier’s grave.

Following reports of the alleged altercation involving his staffers, Trump posted a campaign video to TikTok featuring footage filmed at the cemetery, with many branding it “disgusting.”

Trump’s own former secretary of defense, Mark Esper, told CNN that he believes the incident involving Trump’s campaign staff “should be investigated.”

“No person or party, either side should ever use Arlington National Cemetery - or any of our cemeteries or battlefields - for partisan political purposes, or break the so-called rules,” he said.

Family members of those buried in Section 60 have also denounced Trump and his team’s alleged actions.

Senior adviser at the progressive political action committee VoteVets, Major General Paul Eaton, whose father is buried there, slammed the campaign's alleged actions at the cemetery as "nauseating."

He told USA Today: "I truly cannot think of something more repugnant than starting a political fracas on land where Gold Star families mourn. Someone who would do that should never be Commander in Chief.”

This story has been amended on August 30 to clarify the people involved in the incident in question.