


A staffer for former President Donald Trump pushed an Arlington National Cemetery employee trying to prevent the campaign from taking photos in a restricted area on Monday, the Army told multiple outlets Thursday—as Trump’s campaign faces backlash for the alleged altercation.
Donald Trump visits Arlington Cemetery to pay tribute to the 13 servicemembers killed during the ... [+]
An Army spokesperson defended the female employee in the statement, alleging she was “abruptly pushed aside” by a Trump aide who was attempting to take photos and video in Section 60, where service members killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.
Neither the Arlington employee nor the Trump aide have been publicly identified.
The campaign was “made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds” ahead of Trump’s visit on Monday to the cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the deadly Kabul airport attack during the Afghanistan war withdrawal, the Army said in a statement.
The Army also said it was “unfortunate” the “employee and her professionalism” were “unfairly attacked,” appearing to refer to allegations from Trump’s campaign claiming it was granted permission to have a photographer onsite, denying the physical alteration and accusing the official—whom the campaign called “despicable”—of suffering from a mental health episode.
Military police were called to the cemetery after the incident and took a report on the alleged altercation, multiple outlets reported, citing an Army spokesperson who said the employee decided not to press charges and the Army “considers this matter closed,” while Politico reported the staffer declined to take legal action out of fear of retaliation.
This is a developing story and will be updated.