One of Fairfax County’s congressional representatives wants a public accounting of reported clash between presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign and staff at Arlington National Cemetery.
This morning (Wednesday), Rep. Gerry Connolly called for the cemetery to “publicly release all that transpired” during the former president and current Republican presidential nominee’s visit on Monday (Aug. 26).
“I’ve joined families in grieving at Arlington Cemetery and spent my career ensuring those who served can be buried at our National cemetery,” Connolly said in a statement. “It’s sad but all too expected that Donald Trump would desecrate this hallowed ground and put campaign politics ahead of honoring our heroes.”
I urge Arlington Cemetery to publicly release all that transpired yesterday so the American people can ensure the ground in which our nation's heroes are buried is not being debased by a man who has no concept of service and sacrifice. Full statement:https://t.co/A6cNS8NbOM
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) August 28, 2024
At the invitation of their families, Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony to honor three service members killed in a bombing at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021 during the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported.
However, NPR reported yesterday that two members of Trump’s campaign staff “verbally abused and pushed” an Arlington National Cemetery official who tried to prevent them from filming and taking photos in Section 60, where recent casualties are buried.
According to NPR, cemetery officials made clear to the campaign beforehand that only their staff are authorized to take photos in that area.
“Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” Arlington National Cemetery told NPR.
The Trump campaign denies that the incident turned physical, stating that it’ll “release footage if such defamatory claims are made.”
“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said.
When contacted by FFXnow, Trump’s campaign team shared Cheung’s statement, which was also provided to NPR, but didn’t directly address Connolly’s request for the incident report to be made public.
In an updated statement sent to media on Thursday, Aug. 29, an Army spokesperson confirmed that the incident was reported to the Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall Police Department, but the Army now “considers this matter closed” after the cemetery employee declined to press charges.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the worker decided not to pursue charges because she feared “retaliation from Trump supporters.”
In addition, the family of a Green Beret who died by suicide has raised concerns about his gravesite in Section 60 being filmed, the Times reported. The grave appeared in a video Trump posted on TikTok — possibly violating federal laws and Army regulations banning political activities on cemetery grounds.
The cemetery employee was attempting to enforce those rules when she “was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army spokesperson said in the updated statement.
Arlington National Cemetery routinely hosts public wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for individuals and groups who submit requests in advance. ANC conducts nearly 3,000 such public ceremonies a year without incident.
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. 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. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.
This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.
Connolly, a Democrat who is seeking a ninth term in Congress, blasted Trump as “a man who has no concept of service and sacrifice” in his statement.
“This is a man whose own military generals have disavowed, a man who has called heroes like John McCain suckers and losers, a man who has insulted Gold Star families,” he said. “His behavior and that of his campaign is abhorrent and shameful.”
Connolly was part of the Virginia delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week, when Vice President Kamala Harris was officially selected as the party’s nominee for president.
During his campaign visit to Virginia on Monday, Trump also appeared at Truong Tien Restaurant in Falls Church’s Eden Center to court the area’s Vietnamese community.
Screenshot via C-SPAN
