Army says Arlington National Cemetery worker was ‘pushed aside’ by Trump aides

The U.S. Army said an employee at Arlington National Cemetery who tried to “ensure adherence” to rules that prohibit political activities at the cemetery “was abruptly pushed aside,” but that the employee decided not to press charges against the Trump campaign staffers who allegedly pushed her.

The statement Thursday comes in response to NPR’s reporting on former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington and an altercation his staff had with a cemetery employee.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” the statement said. “An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.”

The Army, in its statement, called the incident “unfortunate,” adding: “it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”

The statement comes a day after Trump shared a TikTok video including footage from Arlington National Cemetery that likely violates a federal law against using military cemeteries for campaigning purposes.

NPR reported Trump campaign staffers had a physical altercation with an Arlington National Cemetery staffer on Monday over the restriction.

It’s not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military, but the campaign is seeking to downplay what happened in the aftermath.

Trump was at Arlington Monday to commemorate the third anniversary of an attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. servicemembers amidst the disastrous withdrawal of troops. Trump and other Republicans have blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris for the chaos and loss of life.

The 21-second video shows Trump laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several snippets of Trump joining Gold Star family members at gravesites of their loved ones in a part of the cemetery known as Section 60.

“We lost 13 great great people, what a horrible day it was,” Trump says over somber music. “We didn’t lose one person in 18 months and then they took over the disaster, the leaving of Afghanistan.”

The Trump campaign responds

In the aftermath of the visit to Arlington, the Trump campaign response has taken on a tone of nastiness. One spokesman said the cemetery staffer was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode,” promising to release footage of the encounter but so far declining to do so.

On the campaign trail in Pennsylvania Wednesday, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said Harris could “go to hell” over the Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed reporters for the campaign’s controversy that he called a “disagreement.”