Donald Trump visits Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., to pay tribute to the 13 service members killed during the Afghanistan evacuation on Aug. 26, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via AP)
The U.S. Army on Friday released a heavily redacted incident report of a “Simple Assault” during former President Donald Trump‘s contentious August visit to Arlington National Cemetery, where an employee trying to stop Trump staffers from taking pictures and filming was “abruptly pushed aside.”
The document, published on the website of the watchdog group American Oversight, contains seven pages with three lines about the incident in an executive summary.
“On 26 August 2024 at 1030 hours, the Joint Base Myer – Henderson Hall (JBM-HH), Police Department was notified by [redacted] of the following incident: While working at the Arlington National Cemetery, [redacted] with both of [redacted] his hands while attempting to move past [redacted] did not require medical attention on scene and later refused when offered. [Redacted] rendered a sworn statement on a DA Form 2823 and stated [redacted] did not want to press charges. Investigation continues by JBMHH PD Investigations Branch.”
The document was released after a federal judge ordered the Army to release documentation about Trump’s visit earlier this week. The order is part of a lawsuit brought by American Oversight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit government transparency organization.
“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, American Oversight’s interim executive director, said in a statement. “The alleged conduct of the former president and his staff aligns with his history of politicizing the military and violating clear ethical boundaries, and it’s time for the public to have all the facts. American Oversight will be closely reviewing the redactions and continuing our fight to get information to the people.”
Trump’s campaign went to the cemetery for an event commemorating the anniversary of the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a terrorist bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in 2021. At one point, a cemetery staff member who tried to stop Trump staffers from filming was “abruptly pushed aside” and contacted police but did not press criminal charges, officials said.
“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,” an Army spokesperson said on Aug. 29. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the (Arlington National Cemetery) employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”
A video of Trump at the cemetery was later posted on his campaign TikTok page, with him smiling and showing a thumbs-up sign while posing for photos. The video is overlaid with text discussing his record as president and taking a swipe at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The cemetery directly prohibits political campaigns from filming videos.
Harris, the Democratic nominee, reacted to the video, saying Trump “disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.”
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said the Republican presidential candidate’s team was allowed to have a photographer and contested the allegation that a campaign staffer pushed a cemetery official, The Associated Press reported.
“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,” he said.
Calls were made for documents seeking information about the events of that day. American Oversight made a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documentation on Aug. 30. The U.S. House Oversight Committee also took an interest in documents related to the incident.
“It appears that the Trump campaign refused to abide by Arlington National Cemetery’s absolute prohibition on ‘filming for partisan, political, or fundraising purposes’ and ‘abruptly pushed aside’ Cemetery staff trying to ‘ensure adherence’ to these rules,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, wrote to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. “Accordingly, I ask you to provide the Committee with the incident report and a briefing to Committee staff on the facts of this incident, including whether Trump campaign staff violated federal law or Cemetery rules and whether the Trump campaign informed the families of service members buried at the Cemetery that their gravestones would be used in Mr. Trump’s political campaign ads.”
“Although the incident was reported to the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall police department, reporting indicates the employee declined to press charges for fear that Trump supporters would retaliate against her,” Raskin added.
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