Trump staffers are said to have become violent with officials at Arlington National Cemetery

The Trump campaign has denied a report claiming that two members of Donald Trump's team verbally abused and shoved an official during a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.

A source familiar with the incident told NPR on Tuesday that the Trump aides became verbally and physically aggressive after a cemetery official tried to stop them from filming in Section 60, a 14-acre site where U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan rest.

Trump was in Arlington to mark the anniversary of the 2021 Kabul airport attack, a suicide bombing that killed 13 American soldiers and more than 150 Afghans amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

NPR's source said Trump's team was made aware that only cemetery employees were allowed to take photographs inside the gravesite.

The Trump team rejected the source's account of events in a statement to the Daily Beast.

“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” said campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. He did not respond to requests from the Daily Beast or NPR to release the footage.

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

Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump, called the cemetery official a “despicable human being” who did not deserve to represent the “hollowed-out sites.” [sic]“ of the cemetery.

“Whoever spreads these lies dishonors the men and women of our armed forces,” he added in the statement, via NPR's source, “and shows no respect for all who have paid the price to defend our country.”

In a statement to NPR, Arlington National Cemetery said it could “confirm that an incident occurred and a report was filed.”

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election activities at U.S. Army military cemeteries, including photographers, content creators, or others who visit for specific purposes or directly support the campaign of a partisan political candidate,” it says.

“Arlington National Cemetery has affirmed this law and its prohibitions and made them fully accessible to all concerned.”

Cheung claimed in a tweet Tuesday night that the campaign had been given explicit permission to bring a photographer to the venue. He shared a cropped screenshot that appears to show an unattributed email instructing the campaign that Trump be assigned “an official photographer and/or videographer outside of the main media pool.”

The Republican presidential candidate helped lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and spoke to families of victims in Kabul. He was criticized for giving a thumbs-up and smiling during a photo op at the grave.

Trump has come under criticism in the past for his comments about veterans. According to his former chief of staff, he referred to American war victims as “suckers” and “losers.” He has firmly denied this.

Earlier this month, veterans sharply criticized the former president for calling the civilian-focused Presidential Medal of Freedom “much better” than the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

After his visit to Arlington, Trump traveled on to Detroit, Michigan, where, according to the Associated Press, he blamed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the “humiliation in Afghanistan.” Before a crowd of National Guard members and their families, Trump called the withdrawal “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.”

In her own statement marking the anniversary, Harris said the “13 dedicated patriots represent the best of America, putting our beloved nation and their fellow Americans above themselves, and putting themselves in harm's way to ensure the safety of their fellow citizens.”

She also praised Biden for his “courageous and correct decision” to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.