By Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Army defended an Arlington National Cemetery employee who was pushed aside during a visit by former President Donald Trump, saying that she acted professionally and was being unfairly attacked.
The military rarely comments on political matters and while its statement on Thursday did not explicitly mention Trump or his 2024 presidential campaign, it made reference to a Monday ceremony.
On that day Trump, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential election, visited the cemetery and took part in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the 13 servicemembers killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
He also visited Section 60 of the cemetery, where troops are buried and which is considered hallowed ground in the military.
Federal law and Pentagon policies do not allow political activities in that section of the cemetery, but videos were taken by Trump's campaign and used in advertisements.
"An ANC (Arlington National Cemetery) employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside," the Army statement said.
"This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked," it added.
During a speech in Michigan on Thursday, Trump said families of service members who died in Afghanistan had asked him to go to Arlington National Cemetery and take photographs with them.
"They love me and I love them," Trump said.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung had said: "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."
Trump used the third anniversary on Monday of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to try to pin the chaotic pullout on his Democratic rival for the White House, Kamala Harris.
CONCERNS ABOUT POLITICIZATION
The U.S. military is meant to be apolitical, loyal to the U.S. Constitution and independent of any party or political movement.
The Arlington cemetery incident has revived fears among some officials and experts that Trump could use the military for political purposes if he wins a second term.
While in office, Trump intervened and restored the rank of a Navy SEAL convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State detainee and threatened to use U.S. troops to put down protests around the country.
Since leaving office Trump has berated some military officials.
"We really did not want to get involved in this," said a U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"But what happened (at Arlington) is not acceptable."
The Army has said that it considers the matter closed since the employee did not press charges.
IMPACT ON VETERAN VOTERS?
A post on TikTok by Trump shows videos of him near tombstones in Section 60 at the cemetery. Some veterans called the move disrespectful.
"This is no way for a government official or political candidate to conduct themselves on the sacred ground of Section 60 at Arlington," retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The final resting place of so many heroic Americans - including some who died under my command - is not a political prop," Stavridis added.
One image on social media shows Trump and the family of Darin Taylor Hoover, a 31-year-old Marine Corps staff sergeant who was among the last 13 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan, smiling and giving a thumbs up over Hoover's tombstone.
Hoover's father, also Darin Hoover, told Reuters that a number of families had invited Trump to Arlington cemetery because he has been supportive of them.
Hoover said he was angered and frustrated by the outcry, including over the image of his son's gravesite.
"This was our time to spend with (our son), spend with the president.... If we didn't want to do it, we would not have done it," Hoover said.
Another tombstone visible in that picture with Trump and others smiling is of Master Sergeant Andrew Marckesano, who died by suicide in 2020.
In a statement, his family said they understood Hoover's family and other families looking for accountability for the troops killed in Afghanistan, but based on their conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump campaign did not follow the rules.
"We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly," Michele Marckesano said.
Whether the incident will sway veterans on Election Day was unclear.
In a report published in April, the Pew Research Center found that military veterans favor the Republican Party, with 63% of respondents identifying with or leaning Republican.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali. Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Don Durfee, Howard Goller and Deepa Babington)
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