Arlington National Cemetery officials confirm an “incident” during Trump’s visit

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed Tuesday that an incident occurred when former President Donald Trump visited the cemetery the day before to commemorate the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attacks in Afghanistan.

“We can confirm that an incident occurred and a report was filed,” the statement said.

“Federal law prohibits political campaigning or election-related activities at Army National Cemetery military cemeteries, including photographers, content creators, or others who are there for the purposes of or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign,” the cemetery added. “Arlington National Cemetery has affirmed this law and its prohibitions and widely shared them with all participants.”

The former president took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday to mark the third anniversary of the deaths of 13 U.S. soldiers in an Islamic State attack outside Kabul airport in Afghanistan. More than 150 Afghans were also killed. Parents of fallen soldiers expressed anger at President Joe Biden's administration for failing to provide answers to the attack.

Following the ceremony, Trump went to Section 60 of the cemetery, where some soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried and where filming is normally strictly prohibited.

NPR first reported on Tuesday that there had been “a verbal and physical altercation” between two members of the Trump campaign team and a cemetery official who tried to prevent them from filming.

Arlington National Cemetery's statement did not confirm these details.

Trump's communications director Steven Cheung disputed some details of the report and said the campaign team was prepared 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. “The fact is that a private photographer was allowed onto the premises and for some reason an unnamed individual, who was obviously suffering from a mental disorder, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony.”

Cheung added in a statement to X that Trump was allowed to send a photographer there.

Trump's co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted a video on x showing Trump laying flowers at a grave.

In a statement, he claimed that a “despicable human being” physically prevented Trump's team from accompanying him to the event.

“For a despicable human to physically prevent President Trump's team from accompanying him to this solemn event is disgraceful and does not deserve to represent the hollowed-out ground of Arlington National Cemetery,” LaCivita said. “Whoever spreads these lies dishonors the men and women of our armed forces and disrespects anyone who has paid the price to defend our country.”

LaCivita claimed that Trump was in Section 60 at the invitation of the families of the Abbey Gate Gold Star buildings “to honor their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”

The controversy followed a comment made by the former president this month in which he said the civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was “better” than the highest military award, the Presidential Medal of Honor, because that award's recipients are often dead or injured.

Trump had previously come under fire for a 2020 report by the Atlantic. The report was later confirmed by former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. It said he made derogatory remarks about fallen soldiers, calling them “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has denied this accusation.