Trump campaign staff accused of verbally abusing and pushing Arlington National Cemetery official

Two members of Donald Trump’s campaign staff have been accused of verbally abusing and pushing an Arlington National Cemetery official when the former president attended a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday.

A source told NPR that the cemetery official had tried to stop Trump staffers from filming and photographing in a section of the cemetery known as Section 60, where recent US casualties are buried.

Arlington officials had reportedly made it clear to the Trump campaign beforehand that only cemetery staff are authorized to photograph or film in the area.

But when the official tried to stop Trump’s team from entering Section 60, two unnamed staffers allegedly verbally abused and pushed the official aside, the source said.

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed in a statement to The Independent that “there was an incident, and a report was filed.”

“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,” said the cemetery.

“Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.”

In response to the claims, Trump also took to Truth Social, posting a statement overnight on behalf of family members of two fallen service members – Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover and Sergeant Nicole Gee – who died during the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

In the statement, the family members claimed “the president and his team conducted themselves with nothing but the utmost respect and dignity for all of our service members, especially our beloved children.”

The statement