An aide to Donald Trump pushed an Arlington National Cemetery employee on Monday when the former president visited the site with family members of U.S. service members killed in the 2021 Kabul airport attack during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, two Defense Department officials said.
The Trump aide pushed the cemetery employee out of the way to get past to take photos and video at Section 60, where service members killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried, the officials told NBC News.
Military police were called and wrote up an incident report, but they are not expected to pursue the matter further. The cemetery employee does not intend to press charges. The police arrived at the scene while Trump's motorcade was still there, but they didn't obtain a formal statement from his team, officials said.
An Army spokesperson said the Arlington National Cemetery employee was “abruptly pushed aside” but does not intend to press charges, and the Army now considers the matter closed.
The spokesperson said the cemetery 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," the spokesperson continued. "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."
After the incident was reported to military police, "the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed," the statement said, calling the incident "unfortunate" and adding that "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."
Asked for comment Thursday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said that the reporting was not true.
"False. Not even remotely true and this person is a liar," he said. "As someone who was there, this employee was the one who initiated physical contact that was unwarranted and unnecessary."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The cemetery confirmed Tuesday that an incident had occurred during Trump's visit, in which he and victims' family members marked the third anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate, which killed 13 service members.
NPR first reported that two Trump campaign staff had a confrontation with a cemetery official who tried to prevent them from filming, which typically is restricted in Section 60.
Cheung said earlier this week that the campaign was willing to release video to support its denial of some of the details in the report.
“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. "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.”
He followed up in a statement on X saying Trump had permission to have a photographer there. Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita posted a video on X of Trump laying flowers at a grave, and Trump posted a TikTok video of the ceremony as well.
Federal regulations bar “partisan political activities ” at memorial services at Army cemeteries.
NBC News reported Wednesday that family members invited Trump to take part in the commemoration, where Trump posed for a photo beside the grave of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin “Taylor” Hoover. Hoover's mother, Kelly Barnett, told NBC News that she gave permission for the visit to be documented.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News:
- Trump team downplays Arlington 'incident' in an effort to minimize political fallout
- With flannel, football and pheasants, Harris and Walz make a play for Trump territory
- Justice Dept. watchdog blasts FBI over handling of child sexual abuse cases
