‘Attacked’: Donald Trump cemetery row escalates
The US Army has publicly berated Donald Trump’s campaign after a cemetery altercation while the family of a solder has taken aim at him too.
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The US Army has publicly rebuked Donald Trump after it said one of its officials was “abruptly pushed” and had her character “unfairly attacked” by campaign staff of the presidential nominee.
It’s an escalation of a row that broke out between Mr Trump’s staff and army staff at a military cemetery outside Washington DC on Monday.
The military’s intervention is rare against a senior politician.
Mr Trump has been accused of campaigning for the election at one of the US’ most solemn landmarks.
Family members of a fallen service man have also said they did not give permission for his grave to be in an image where Mr Trump can be seen smiling and giving a thumbs up.
The unedifying incident unfolded on Monday at the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), the final resting place of 400,000 military personnel.
Mr Trump laid a wreath to honour 13 US troops who died in 2021 due to a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The bombing happened as US troops withdrew from Kabul under President Joe Biden.
On Monday, Mr Trump said it was a “botched” exit from Kabul “caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden”.
Although it should be noted that it was Mr Trump, when he was president, who signed an agreement with the Taliban to have western troops leave Afghanistan.
The wreath laying itself had media present and there were many photographs and footage of the event.
Unedifying graveyard fracas
But the US’ National Public Radio (NPR) reported that a staff member with the cemetery had sought to prevent Trump campaign staff from filming and taking photographs inside a restricted area where the recently fallen were buried after the wreath laying had concluded. This area is called Section 60.
Teh cemetery official was then reportedly “verbally abused and pushed aside,” by Trump staff.
But campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said a cemetery official “physically blocked” members of his team.
He added that the staff member was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode”.
Chris LaCivita, a senior member of the Trump campaign team, said the cemetery staff member was “a despicable individual” and, “does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery”.
Army chastises Trump
The US Army, which manages the cemetery, has now weighed in and said its staff member was physically manhandled.
“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and (Department of Defence) policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.
“An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army said in the statement on Thursday, US time.
“Section 60 is an area in the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
‘Unfairly attacked’
The US Army statement added that Arlington is a “national shrine” and “its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve”.
“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”
The fracas was reported to the police but the employee “decided not to press charges”.
The Army said it “considers this matter closed”.
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Family of fallen Marine upset
On Wednesday, the Trump campaign produced an email which it claimed is from the cemetery which said a photographer was allowed from its staff. But the email made no mention of that photographer being allowed into Section 60.
Despite Section 60 being a private area which was off limits to campaign photographers, images have emerged on social media of Mr Trump in that area.
One of the images shows Mr Trump smiling between graves and surrounded by some of the families of those who died in Kabul
In the image, Mr Trump stands next to the grave of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover and close to that of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano which is prominent in the shot.
But the Marckesano family have said they did not give consent for the grave of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano to be in the picture.
“According to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit to Staff Sergeant Hoover’s gravesite in Section 60, which lays directly next to my brother’s grave,” a family member told The New York Times.
There is reportedly also a video on TikTok of the Republican presidential nominee walking through the graveyard saying the Kabul withdrawal was a “disaster”.
The cemetery itself has already issued a statement where it insisted that photographers, videographers and similar “in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” were not allowed on the grounds.
Mr Trump posted about the incident on social media and shared a statement from family members of the fallen who had accompanied him.
“We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event, ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever,” the statement from the families said.
Originally published as ‘Attacked’: Donald Trump cemetery row escalates
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