Trump staff warned about taking photos before cemetery altercation: official

Donald Trump’s campaign was cautioned against taking photographs before an altercation occurred at Arlington National Cemetery during a wreath-laying ceremony earlier this week, honoring service members who died during the Afghanistan War withdrawal, according to a defense official who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, commented a day after NPR reported that two Trump campaign staff members had "verbally abused and pushed" a cemetery official who attempted to stop them from filming and photographing in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The defense official informed the AP that the Trump campaign was warned in advance not to take photographs in Section 60 before their arrival and the subsequent incident. Trump was at Arlington on Monday at the invitation of some of the families of the 13 service members who were killed in the Kabul airport bombing, which had occurred exactly three years earlier.

Arlington National Cemetery, which serves as the final resting place for more than 400,000 service members, veterans, and their families, issued a statement confirming that "an incident" had occurred and that a report had been filed, though it did not provide specific details. The cemetery officials declined to release the report.

"Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, including photographers, content creators, or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign," the cemetery's statement read. "Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants. We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed."

Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, emphasized that Trump was there at the invitation of the families of the service members killed in the bombing. The campaign later posted a message from relatives of two of the service members, stating, "the president and his team conducted themselves with nothing but the utmost respect and dignity for all of our service members, especially our beloved children."

LaCivita also criticized the cemetery official in a written statement, saying, "For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery," misspelling "hallowed." He added, "Whoever this individual is, spreading these lies is dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces."

Michael Tyler, spokesperson for Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, described the reports as "pretty sad when it’s all said and done."

"This is what we’ve come to expect from Donald Trump and his team," Tyler stated on CNN. "Donald Trump is someone who always wants to make everything about himself and has a history of demeaning and degrading military service members, including those who have made the ultimate sacrifice."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia has called for cemetery officials to release more information about Monday’s events.

"It’s sad but all too expected that Donald Trump would desecrate this hallowed ground and prioritize campaign politics over honoring our heroes," Connolly said. "His behavior and that of his campaign is abhorrent and shameful."

Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, addressed the incident at a campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, downplaying the altercation by saying, "apparently somebody at Arlington Cemetery, some staff member, had a little disagreement with somebody," and criticized the media for turning it into a major news story.