Army defends Arlington National Cemetery officials after Trump incident

U.S. Army officials on Wednesday appeared to indirectly rebuke former President Donald Trump's campaign for “unfairly” criticizing the professionalism of an Arlington National Cemetery employee who got into an altercation with Trump staffers, and provided new details about the incident.

The cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” when he tried to enforce regulations against political campaign activities on the site, the army statement said.

Monday's incident was reported to police, but “the employee subsequently decided not to file a complaint.”

“Therefore, the army considers this matter closed,” the statement continued.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday that the cemetery official was “suffering from a mental breakdown,” and Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita also criticized the employee, calling him a “despicable person,” according to the New York Times.

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Although Trump's election campaign is not explicitly mentioned, the Army statement says it is “unfortunate that the (cemetery) worker and her professionalism have been unfairly attacked.”

Arlington National Cemetery “is a national shrine to the honored dead of the armed forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure that public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect that the nation's fallen deserve.”

The Army statement also said that those involved in the wreath-laying and visit to Section 60 – where the graves of recent U.S. casualties are located – were advised of federal law, Army regulations and Department of Defense policies that “clearly prohibit political activity on cemetery grounds.” Trump's team took photographs and video at the site.