A new report shed more light Wednesday on the altercation between Trump campaign staffers and an official at Arlington National Cemetery.
The confrontation reportedly took place when former President Trump attended a wreath-laying ceremony dedicated to veterans killed and injured during the 2021 Kabul airport bombing, which occurred as the U.S. military was pulling out of Afghanistan.
Two Trump campaign staffers, identified by The New York Times as Press Secretary Steven Cheung and campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita, reportedly got into a verbal and physical altercation with an an official at the cemetery who directed them not to take photos in Section 60, NPR first reported.
Section 60 is the area of Arlington National Cemetery where veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. “Partisan political activities” at military cemeteries is prohibited by federal law.
The Times only identified the official as a woman who works at the cemetery. She filed a report after the altercation, but ultimately declined to press charges due to fear of retaliation from Trump supporters, the newspaper reported, citing military officials.
Donald Trump visits Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to the 13 servicemembers killed during the Afghanistan evacuation.
Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Trump campaign immediately denied that any physical altercation took place and insisted it had permission to film in the restricted area. Cheung also claimed in his initial statement that the official involved was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.”
The Trump campaign did not return a request for comment from the Daily Beast concerning the incident. When asked about the official’s decision not to press charges, Cheung told the Times in a statement: “that is ridiculous and sounds like someone who has Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The campaign has previously insisted they attended the ceremony at the invitation of the Gold Star families of two veterans who died in the Kabul bombing. The campaign circulated a statement from the families thanking the former president and confirming they gave him permission to take photos.
Arlington is operated by the U.S. Army, but the Defense Department has not publicly commented on the brewing controversy. Anonymous defense officials told the Associated Press and The Washington Post that the Trump campaign was warned not to take photographs in the restricted area.
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