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The U.S. Army on Friday released a heavily redacted report on an incident at Arlington National Cemetery involving a staffer and aides with the Trump campaign when the former president visited the cemetery in August.
The nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight obtained a copy of the report, which offers very few details about the incident. It lists the offense in question as a “simple assault, and offers a partially redacted description of what allegedly took place.
“While working at the Arlington National Cemetery, [REDACTED] with both of [REDACTED] hands while attempting to move past [REDACTED] did not require medical attention on scene and later refused when offered. [REDACTED] rendered a sworn statement on a DA Form 2023 and stated [REDACTED] did not want to press charges,” the report reads.
But the entire statement about what took place from the cemetery employee is redacted.
Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26 for a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Kabul airport attack that killed 13 U.S. service members amid the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
NPR, citing an anonymous source, first reported a cemetery official tried to stop Trump staffers from filming and photographing in an area of the cemetery where soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried, known as Section 60. The source told NPR that Trump staffers pushed the official aside when they tried to stop campaign officials from entering the area.
The Trump campaign blamed the cemetery employee for the incident and accused them of having a “mental health episode” and trying to “physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”
The Army itself weighed in to defend the employee’s actions, saying they were trying to enforce rules prohibiting political activities on cemetery grounds when they were pushed aside.
“Consistent with the decorum expected at [the cemetery], this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption,” the official said, adding the incident was reported to police but “the employee subsequently decided not to press charges.”
The Army said it now “considers this matter closed.”
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