Two staffers of the Donald Trump Presidential campaign engaged in a "verbal and physical altercation" with one of the officials at the Arlington National Cemetery on August 26.
Knewz.com has learned that the former President visited the cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the 13 United States Army servicemen who died during the American military's rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The cemetery official tried to stop the Trump staffers from clicking photographs or filming in the area known as Section 60, where the fallen soldiers are buried.
The official further explained to the staffers that only the Arlington Cemetery staff members are allowed to photograph or film in the section.
However, an anonymous source from the National Cemetery said in a statement that the Trump staffers allegedly "verbally abused and pushed the official aside."
The incident was also confirmed in a statement from the cemetery, which mentioned that a "report was filed," although it did not provide further details.
On the other hand, Trump campaign spokesperson and communications director Steven Cheung claimed that "there was no physical altercation as described."
In a released statement, Cheung said, "We are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made," adding that the person who "attacked" the Trump staffers at the Arlington Cemetery was "suffering from a mental health episode."
"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," Cheung was quoted as saying.
Chris LaCivita, a U.S. Marine veteran who is also GOP's top campaign adviser, commented on the incident saying that the former President visited the cemetery upon invitation from "Gold Star" families—those who have lost a family member to active military duty.
"For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed [sic] grounds of Arlington National Cemetery," LaCivita said.
The Trump campaign also shared a statement by Gold Star family member Cheryl Juels, whose niece Nicole Gee, a U.S. Marine Sergeant, died during the Afghanistan exit in 2021.
The statement claimed that Jules and her family “absolutely welcomed and appreciated having video and photography there with us during the time we spent with President Trump.”
It is worth noting that visitors have often clicked photographs inside the Arlington National Cemetery, including Section 60.
However, the Arlington National Cemetery drew a clear distinction between normal visitors and Trump vis-a-vis the clicking of photographs in the section where the fallen soldiers are buried.
The statement released by the cemetery mentioned:
"Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign."
"Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants."
Trump visited the cemetery on the occasion of the third anniversary of the "botched" extraction of U.S. forces from Afghanistan—something for which he has long held President Joe Biden responsible.
The GOP Presidential candidate spoke to the family members of the soldiers who died in the Kabul bombing, and later in the day, dubbed the 2021 Afghanistan extraction the "most embarrassing moment in the history of our country" in a Truth Social post, according to reports.