“There is no greater sacrifice than giving one’s life in defense of our country. It was my solemn privilege to stand alongside the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover at Arlington National Cemetery today as we paid tribute to his legacy and the 12 others who lost their lives three years ago at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan. I am grateful today, and every day, for those who serve and defend our freedoms at home and abroad: Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox

By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Donald Trump and his campaign staff distastefully used the war dead at Arlington National Cemetery for political purposes on Monday, in direct violation of federal law, clashing with an official at the cemetery who confronted them and demanded that they stop taking pictures.

The military cemetery said in a statement that federal law prohibits political campaigning on the grounds, and that “there was an incident, and a report was filed.”

The altercation was prompted by the presence of a photographer in a section of the cemetery where American troops who were killed in recent wars are buried, according to the first official reports of the incident in the New York Times, citing a report from NPR.

An official with the cemetery tried to “physically block” members of Trump’s team, Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement, accusing the staffer of “suffering from a mental health episode.”

Cemetery officials did not provide their own account of the encounter, saying instead that “there was an incident, and a report was filed.”

The cemetery added that it had “reinforced and widely shared” to the Trump campaign the federal laws prohibiting campaign activities by photographers “or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”

VoteVets, the liberal veterans group, called on Trump to fire the members of his team involved in the confrontation.

Trump visited the cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring 13 American troops who were killed in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the United States’ withdrawal from that country three years ago. Trump has blamed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the bombing and America’s chaotic withdrawal, and repeated his attacks on the subject in campaign events after his visit to the cemetery.

Trump laid three wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Monday morning, the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing. Two of the wreaths were for Marines killed: Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee. A third was dedicated to all 13 troops killed.

Trump was accompanied for the laying of the wreaths by family members of the slain troops, as well as Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews and Corporal Kelsee Lainhart, two Marines who were injured in the Abbey Gate attack. Sergeant Vargas-Andrews lost his right arm and left leg in the attack, and Corporal Lainhart was paralyzed in the attack and now uses a wheelchair.

Trump then accompanied the families and Marine veterans to Section 60 of the cemetery, reserved for those recently killed in America’s wars abroad, including at Abbey Gate.

That part of Trump’s visit was private and closed to the press. Cheung, the Trump campaign spokesman, pointed to a screenshot of an email that he argued gave the campaign photo access to Section 60. That excerpt, however, says that “former President Trump may have an official photographer and/or videographer outside of the main media pool,” but it does not suggest Trump’s photographer was given special access.

The campaign also shared text messages from family members of the veterans consenting to having Trump’s campaign media attend the event. The campaign did not provide evidence that the cemetery gave them permission to have a photographer at Section 60 — which the cemetery said in its statement would be a violation of federal law.

Gov. Spencer J. Cox, Republican of Utah, who visited the cemetery with Trump, shared a photo from Section 60 on social media, with Trump and others in a “thumbs-up” pose around the grave of Staff Sergeant Hoover.

Readers on social media, including many veterans, were appalled to see a photo of Trump giving a thumbs up at a grave site, and said it was just another example of Trump’s attitude that military veterans are “losers and suckers” who are fools to support him and his campaign for president.

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