US Army Must Release Records on Incident During Trump Visit to Arlington Cemetery, Judge Rules

Former President Donald Trump lays a wreath alongside Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart (Ret.) and U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews (Ret.), who were injured at the Abbey Gate Bombing in Afghanistan, during a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 26. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The U.S. Army must release records related to a visit former President Donald Trump made to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in August, after reports emerged of an alleged altercation between his campaign staffers and an official working at the cemetery.

Senior Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia signed the order on Oct. 22 as part of a lawsuit bought by American Oversight, a Washington-based nonprofit organization. The group was founded in 2017 in response to what it says is the “unprecedented challenges that the Trump administration posed to our nation’s democratic ideals and institutions.”

American Oversight filed a Freedom of Information Act request in August seeking records relating to the alleged incident between Trump’s campaign staff and the employee, arguing that there was a compelling public interest in sharing information with the public as soon as possible.

In September, the organization requested that Arlington expedite the processing of its request, noting the presidential election is drawing closer.

Friedman said in his Oct. 22 ruling that the Army must release nonexempt portions of records about the requested incident on or before Oct. 25.

“With the election just two weeks away, the American people have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military,” Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight’s interim executive director, said in a statement following Friedman’s order.

“These records belong to the public, and we’re pleased the court agreed on the need to expedite our request. We look forward to receiving the incident report and making it available to the public.”

Friedman’s order relates to Trump’s visit to the military cemetery on Aug. 26, during which the Republican presidential nominee participated in a wreath-laying ceremony alongside relatives of service members who died as U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.

According to multiple reports, the alleged altercation began when the unnamed official working at the cemetery told the Trump campaign that no photos or videos could be taken.

Arlington Employee ‘Unfairly Attacked’

Trump staffers allegedly pushed the cemetery official after she tried to prevent them from entering an area with recently buried service members.

The U.S. Army oversees the management of Arlington National Cemetery.

At the time of the alleged incident, a spokesperson for Arlington National Cemetery told The Epoch Times via email that a report had been filed following an incident but did not provide further details.

The spokesperson pointed to federal law, which prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army national military cemeteries.

This includes photographers, content creators, or any other persons attending for purposes related to or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign, the spokesperson said.

“Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” the spokesperson said.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Army defended the Arlington National Cemetery employee who was allegedly pushed aside during the altercation, saying that she acted professionally while attempting to ensure adherence to rules and was being unfairly attacked.

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” the Army said in a statement to multiple media.

However, the Trump campaign told The Epoch Times that “no physical altercation” had occurred in the way it was described in multiple media reports and that the campaign was prepared to release footage “if such defamatory claims are made.”

“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises, and for whatever reason, an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” spokesman Steven Cheung said at the time.

Family members of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan also denied claims that Trump’s team entered into an altercation with the cemetery staff, stating that no assault took place.

The Epoch Times has contacted the U.S. Army and the Trump campaign for further comment.

Naveen Athrappully and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.