Seven House Democrats sent a letter Monday to the Army requesting a redacted incident report regarding the altercation at Arlington National Cemetery with members of the Trump campaign last month.
The Democratic lawmakers said in the letter that it appears the Trump campaign “refused to follow legal prohibitions on any and all partisan political activity in US National Cemeteries.”
“We share in the solemn belief that Arlington National Cemetery is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces and is not, and should never be, a place to conduct politics,” they wrote. “It is hallowed ground, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country deserve the utmost dignity and respect.”
The House members requested a redacted report in order to protect the identity of the cemetery staffer who was involved in the altercation with the Trump campaign.
They also asked for a full account of former President Trump’s visit to the cemetery, including communications with his team about rules and regulations.
The letter was signed by Democratic Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Donald Norcross (N.J.), Salud Carbajal (Calif.), Pat Ryan (N.Y.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.) and Jill Tokuda (Hawaii).
Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26, the three-year anniversary of the Kabul airport bombing in Afghanistan, at the invitation of some of the Gold Star families of the 13 service members killed in the attack.
The altercation, first reported by NPR but later confirmed by the Army, which oversees the nation’s military cemetery grounds, took place at Section 60, a solemn ground for service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Two members of the Trump campaign team were trying to film and take photos in the section, and an Army staffer sought to uphold the rules that prohibit politicization of the grounds, which then led to the employee being allegedly pushed aside.
The Army said in its statement days after the incident that the staffer “acted with professionalism” and that her “professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” but it otherwise said the incident would be dropped.
The Trump campaign denied the staffer was pushed aside and said they were having a mental health episode.
Trump also personally denied the incident , called it a “made-up story” and said there “was no conflict or fighting at Arlington National Cemetery last week.”
Several Democrats have called for a full incident report to be released and have raised serious concerns about it.
Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said Trump “ disrespected sacred ground ” for a “political stunt.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Local News
