'Campaign stunt': Did Trump event 'desecrating' Arlington cemetery violate federal law?

28 August 2024

Donald Trump’s campaign event at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, observing the three-year anniversary of the suicide bombing at the Kabul, Afghanistan airport that killed 13 U.S. service members, may have been in violation of federal regulations, according to a statement reportedly issued by Arlington officials. Trump participated in a wreath laying ceremony and visited a sacred portion of the 160-year old cemetery, causing concern among many including some veterans.

During the event a “verbal and physical altercation” between the ex-president’s campaign staff and an Arlington official allegedly occurred.

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday, Jonathan Lemire said, “I know a lot of military veterans were very uncomfortable with the idea that Trump was there at all.”

“Of course, this comes just days after Trump suggested that a civilian Medal, the Medal of Freedom, was better than the Medal of Honor, because the armed soldiers who received the Medal of Honor are often either killed or wounded,” he added. “And, of course, we’ve been reminded of late, how Trump used to refer to veterans, even deceased soldiers as suckers and losers, a comment, confirmed by his own Chief of Staff.”

The Trump campaign posted a video of a portion of the event, which aired live Monday on Fox News, and used it as an attack on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“After the ceremony, Trump headed to Section 60 of the cemetery, where some service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried and recording is typically heavily restricted,” NBC News reports.

NPR was first to report on the alleged altercation.

“A source with knowledge of the incident said the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump staffers from filming and photographing in a section where recent U.S. casualties are buried. The source said Arlington officials had made clear that only cemetery staff members would be authorized to take photographs or film in the area, known as Section 60,” NPR reported Tuesday evening. “When the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump campaign staff from entering Section 60, campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside, according to the source.”

Arlington National Cemetery issued a statement to NPR, saying it “can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed.”

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the statement said. “Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.”

New York Magazine columnist Jonathan Chait called it an “illegal” photo-op, adding: “Trump used the site as a photo-op in apparent violation of federal regulations.”

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung claimed on social media, “We were granted access to have a photographer there.”

NBC News added that “Cheung denied some of the details of the report and said the campaign was willing to release footage to support its claim.”

“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” Cheung said in a statement, according to NBC.

He also appeared to refer to the Arlington official as “an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode,” who “decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

Trump campaign senior advisor Corey Lewandowski posted photos from the event, including a highly-controversial image of the ex-president standing behind a gravestone holding his thumb up.

Relatives of five fallen service members in a statement Trump posted to social media wrote: “We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event.”

National security Attorney Brad Moss, reposting the statement, said: “I have nothing but respect for the families of those who perished, and I don’t question they intended to give consent to Trump to use photography and video at ANC. But I don’t think Federal law has an exception like that.”

Former Lincoln Project executive director Fred Wellman, an Army combat veteran who now hosts the podcast “On Democracy with FPWellman,” responded to the statement from the families: “This isn’t their choice. It’s a Federal law. The families of the men and women buried around them didn’t get to choose being included in this campaign stunt.”

Alexander Vindman, a retired United States Army lieutenant colonel and former Director for European Affairs for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) on social media asked both Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, “Any comments on Trump violating the law while desecrating Arlington National Cemetery for a campaign stunt?”

Talking Points Memo publisher Josh Marshall wrote, “The Trump campaign broke federal law by staging a political event at one of the country’s oldest national cemeteries and then attacked a member of the cementery staff trying to enforce this meant to keep American military dead from becoming props in political ads. When do we get to see the report? Which Trump staffers desecrated the space by attacking a staffer trying to maintain the dignity of the cemetery and uphold the law?”

Adam Cohen, vice chair of Lawyers for Good Government, on social media commented: “It is unlawful to use photographs from Arlington National Cemetery as part of a political campaign Hopefully the DOJ will file charges against any Trump campaign staffers who have violated this statute.”

MSNBC legal analyst and professor of law Joyce Vance, a former U.S, Attorney, asked: “Where is the outrage, the demand for prosecution, that would follow an incident like this with any other candidate; especially the outrage from Republicans had a Dem[ocrat] done this?”

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