On the morning of August 26th, one or more as-yet-unnamed Donald Trump campaign operatives allegedly assaulted officials working at Arlington Cemetery. Trump’s representatives were, according to reports, attempting to shoot a campaign advertisement with still photos and video footage.
NPR broke the original story on August 28, which detailed a “verbal and physical altercation” during a performative wreath-laying ceremony.
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. 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.
Additional details and confirmation recently came to light when nonprofit-watchdog group American Oversight (AO) filed FOIA requests to U.S. Army for the incident report. The Army only complied after AO filed suit in federal court.
“According to the executive summary of the heavily redacted Form 2893, an unidentified individual ‘[redacted] with both of [redacted] hands while attempting to move past’ and ‘[redacted] did not require medical attention on scene and later refused when offered.’ The offense alleged on the form was simple assault, which, if convicted, carries a term of imprisonment of up to six months.”
AO’s legal action, the group says, revealed the existence of an ongoing law-enforcement investigation into the matter. Trump’s alleged exploitation of Arlington’s hallowed grounds is notable given how he’s promised to use U.S. military to exact retribution on perceived enemies, and that his operatives have apparently repeatedly violated the Hatch Act.
SOURCES
