The US Army has issued a rare rebuke of ex-President Donald Trump’s campaign after an Arlington National Cemetery worker was allegedly ‘pushed aside’ during his visit.
An Army spokesperson confirmed that a cemetery employee was ‘abruptly pushed aside’ on Monday when Trump visited the sacred burial grounds for a wreath-laying ceremony marking the third anniversary of the US’s Afghanistan War withdrawal.
Two Trump campaign members had a verbal and physical altercation with the cemetery worker, NPR reported.
The Army spokesperson did not name Trump or his campaign, but it was abundantly clear that they were the ones being referred to.
‘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,’ stated the Army spokesperson on Thursday.
‘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 spokesperson said the incident was reported to police but that the employee decided against pressing charges.
‘It is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,’ the spokesperson stated.
The statement came a day after Trump shared a TikTok video that included clips from the cemetery visit, and may violate federal law prohibiting the use of military burial grounds for political campaigning.
In the 21-second clip captioned ‘should have never happened’, Trump lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and poses with Gold Star family members at their late loved ones’ gravestones. Some of the clips show him smiling and flashing a thumbs up.
Trump defended his camp in the incident during a campaign event in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday afternoon.
The Republican nominee said that he went to the site because families of the fallen soldiers asked him to be there.
‘While we were there, they said, “Could you take pictures of the grave of my son, sister, brother? Could you take pictures with us, sir?” I said absolutely, I did,’ Trump said.
‘And last night I read that I was using the site to politic. That I used it to politic. This all goes out of Washington, just like all of these prosecutors come out of Washington… these are bad people we’re dealing with.’
Despite its statement criticizing the Trump campaign, the Army is considering the matter ‘closed’ since the employee is not pursuing charges.
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