An incident occurred at Arlington National Cemetery involving former President Donald Trump's campaign on Monday. According to a cemetery spokesperson, an individual physically blocked Trump's team from accompanying him during his visit to the burial site for recent US casualties. The incident took place following a wreath-laying ceremony to honor 13 US military service members who lost their lives at Kabul airport's Abbey Gate during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, marking the third anniversary of the tragedy.
Trump later took to Truth Social to address the incident, suggesting it was related to his campaign's use of photography. He shared a statement from the families of the fallen soldiers expressing approval for his official videographer and photographer to capture the event. However, Arlington National Cemetery stated that federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, including the use of photographers or content creators in support of a partisan political candidate.
While NPR reported a verbal and physical altercation, Trump's spokesperson denied the physical altercation but confirmed that an individual blocked Trump's team during the ceremony. The campaign manager emphasized that Trump was invited by the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families to honor their loved ones and condemned the individual's actions as a disgrace to the sanctity of Arlington National Cemetery.
