Judge orders US Army to release records on Trump’s controversial Arlington Cemetery visit
By Haley Britzky, CNN
(CNN) — The US Army has been ordered by a federal judge to release records related to former President Donald Trump’s controversial August visit to Arlington National Cemetery by Friday at the latest.
The US Army issued a stark rebuke following the visit, stating that an employee of the cemetery was “abruptly pushed aside” after attempting to enforce rules that prohibit political activities taking place at the cemetery. The incident was reported to police and the employee ultimately decided not to press charges. The Army “considers this matter closed,” an Army spokesperson said in August.
The expedited release is a result of a lawsuit by American Oversight, a non-partisan watchdog nonprofit advocating for the release of government records. The group submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for any records relating to interactions between Trump campaign staff and the employee.
Senior Judge Paul Friedman of the US District Court of the District of Columbia signed the order requiring the Army to “produce responsive, non-exempt records on or before October 25” on Tuesday, according to court records.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith told CNN on Tuesday that the Army “will comply with the court order.”
CNN has asked the Trump campaign for comment.
American Oversight submitted a FOIA request for any report “including but not limited to” the filed incident report with military police regarding the incident at Arlington on August 26, according to court records.
Chioma Chukwu, the interim executive director of American Oversight, said in a press release on Tuesday that with the presidential election only two weeks away, the American people “have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military.”
“These records belong to the public, and we’re pleased the court agreed on the need to expedite our request,” Chukwu said. “We look forward to receiving the incident report and making it available to the public.”
When the incident occurred, Trump was visiting Arlington with some family members of US troops who were killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021. The visit was criticized by some veteran organizations who said it was inappropriate and a politicization of one of the most sacred burial grounds of US service members. And while the campaign shared a statement from the Gold Star family members Trump accompanied, which said they’d “given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event,” some imagery that resulted from the visit included the graves of other service members whose families had not given that permission.
Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita told CNN in August that the incident was a “disgrace” as a “despicable individual” attempted to “physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event.”
“Whoever this individual is spreading these lies are dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for defending our country,” LaCivita said. The Trump campaign later shared a video on TikTok of the visit, showing Trump walking through the cemetery and visiting grave sites, with audio of him criticizing the administration of President Joe Biden for the “disaster” of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Arlington and the US Army said the campaign did not adhere to federal laws regarding political activity in the cemetery, and particularly around Section 60, which is largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The incident also prompted the Army to issue the unusually sharp rebuke of the Trump campaign.
“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” an Army spokesperson said in late August. “An ANC (Arlington National Cemetery) employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside.”
“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” the spokesperson said. “ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”
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