On Friday, the U.S. Army made public a heavily redacted police report detailing an incident involving a staffer from Donald Trump’s campaign at Arlington National Cemetery in August. This report categorizes the incident as a “simple assault.”
On August 26, the campaign staffer allegedly pushed a cemetery worker while trying to bypass him, who had attempted to prevent the staffer from taking unauthorized photos. Both individuals’ names have been omitted from the report.
The report indicates that the cemetery employee did not need medical assistance at the time of the incident and later declined offers for help. Additionally, the worker expressed no interest in pressing charges against the Trump campaign staffer, which suggests that the matter may not escalate into formal legal action.
The reluctance of the employee to pursue further action highlights a level of resolution to the incident at the local level.
Despite the report’s release, both the Trump campaign and the Army were unresponsive to requests for comments on the matter. An Army spokesperson stated that the investigation into the incident remains ongoing, which restricts further details from being disclosed at this time.
Release of Redacted Report Reveals Assault Incident Involving Trump Campaign Staffer at Arlington Cemetery
The documents were made available following a lawsuit by the government transparency group American Oversight, which successfully obtained a court order for the Defense Department to release them.
The incident occurred during a significant event, as Trump was at Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the deaths of 13 U.S. service members during an attack in Afghanistan three years prior.
The altercation took place in a restricted section of the cemetery, where specific regulations prohibit campaign activities and photography. An Army spokesperson clarified that the staffer had “abruptly pushed aside” the cemetery worker who was enforcing these restrictions.
This incident adds to the growing scrutiny surrounding Trump concerning military matters. Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has recently made allegations that Trump exhibited behaviors that could be described as fascistic and questioned the integrity of fallen service members during a visit to the cemetery.
Trump has denied these claims, including an assertion that he sought generals similar to those of Hitler, as reported by The Atlantic and echoed by Kelly, further intensifying the controversy surrounding his relationship with military issues.
