Military investigation into incident during Trump’s controversial Arlington Cemetery still ongoing, Army report says
Former President Donald Trump leaves Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery after he attended a ceremony honoring the lives of those who died at the Abbey Gate Bombing
By Haley Britzky, CNN
(CNN) — A military law enforcement investigation is still ongoing into the incident at Arlington National Cemetery when an employee was reportedly pushed by a member of former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
An Army spokesperson previously said in August that the service “considers this matter closed.”
The Army on Friday released a highly redacted police report filed in August by the employee.
“The law enforcement investigation into the incident remains open and we are therefore unable to provide further information at this time,” an Army release including the report said on Friday. The released report says the incident is still being investigated by the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Police Department Investigations Branch, though the employee “did not want to press charges.”
The report is highly redacted, offering nearly no clarity or detail on what occurred during the incident, though the Army has previously said that the Arlington employee in question was “abruptly pushed aside” by a member of the Trump team. The report was filed against a “simple assault” offense, the report says, though the actual detail of what occurred is redacted aside from the claim appearing to say the individual was pushed with both hands by another individual.
The report was released in response to a court order that was delivered earlier this week in response to a lawsuit by American Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog nonprofit advocating for the release of government records.
“We’re pleased that American Oversight was able to get the report into the hands of the American public so they can see for themselves that there is still an ongoing federal law enforcement investigation into the August incident at Arlington National Cemetery,” Chioma Chukwu, interim director of American Oversight, said Friday.
Trump and his campaign had been at Arlington to attend a ceremony marking three years since the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US service members in Afghanistan during the US’ chaotic withdrawal. Trump attended at the invitation of family members of some of the fallen troops.
A video of the visit was later posted by the Trump campaign on TikTok, showing the former president visiting grave sites throughout the cemetery with audio of Trump criticizing the Biden administration’s “disaster” of the withdrawal.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung at the time disputed claims of a physical altercation taking place, saying the employee “decided to “physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.” Cheung suggested that Trump’s team had video to back up the claim, though no video of the incident has been released.
Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita attacked the unnamed individual as “despicable,” saying they were “spreading these lies” and “dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces.” Meanwhile, the visit was criticized by others, including veteran organizations, as an inappropriate politicization of one of the most sacred burial sites for the US military.
The US Army issued a rare rebuke in a statement in the days that followed the incident, defending the Arlington employee and saying Trump and his staff “were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations, and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” including in Section 60, which is largely reserved for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” the Army spokesperson said at the time. “ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”
The Trump campaign pointed to a statement from the Gold Star families he accompanied, saying they gave his videographer and photographer permission to be there. Though some imagery from the visit showed the graves of other US service members who families did not give permission.
In one photo that was shared online the grave of Army Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano — a Special Forces soldier and Silver Star recipient who died by suicide — was featured, as it sits next to the grave of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover, one of the 13 killed at Abbey Gate.
Marckesano’s sister, Michele, said in a statement that while they supported the families of the 13 fallen “in their quest for answers” regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal, the Trump campaign “did not adhere to the rules” of Section 60.
“According to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump Campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit to SSGT Hoover’s grave site in Section 60, which lays directly next to my brother’s grave,” Michele Marckesano said in a statement in August. “We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly.”
The-CNN-Wire
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