This Trump campaign fiasco at Arlington National Cemetery has turned into a huge catastrophe. To recap, two Gold Star families invited Donald Trump to a wreath-laying at Arlington. Trump rolled up to Arlington with his campaign staff, a videographer and photographers. Arlington’s staffers told him, in no uncertain terms, that he could not bring his own photographers into this sacred place, much less use the footage and photos for campaign purposes. Trump staffers assaulted one Arlington employee, a woman, over it. The families whose loved ones are buried in Arlington have now been caught up in Trump’s insane fiasco and they are pissed:

The family of a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving eight combat tours and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery expressed concern on Wednesday that Donald J. Trump’s campaign had filmed his gravesite without permission as Mr. Trump stood in an area where campaign photography isn’t allowed.

Relatives of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano issued their statement two days after Mr. Trump’s visit, which also included a confrontation between members of the Trump campaign and an Arlington employee. The former president’s campaign took video in a heavily restricted section of the cemetery known as Section 60, which is largely reserved for the fallen veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

A woman who works at the cemetery filed an incident report with the military authorities over the altercation. But the official, who has not been identified, later declined to press charges. Military officials said she feared Mr. Trump’s supporters pursuing retaliation.

Sergeant Marckesano died on July 7, 2020, after moving to Washington to begin a job at the Pentagon. He had three children, and friends said he had chronic post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in combat. He earned Silver and Bronze Stars during his service. His gravesite is adjacent to that of Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover, a Marine who was killed in the 2021 bombing at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

The Hoover family granted permission to the Trump team to film and take photographs at the gravesite; the Marckesano family did not, and filming and photographing at the gravesite for political purposes is a violation of federal law, according to cemetery officials. Yet Sergeant Marckesano’s grave was shown in photos from the visit that were published online. A video was posted to Mr. Trump’s TikTok account featuring footage from the Section 60 visit and the gravestones from behind, with narration criticizing the handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

In a statement from Sergeant Marckesano’s relatives after being contacted by The New York Times, his sister, Michele, said, “We fully support Staff Sergeant Darin Hoover’s family and the other families in their quest for answers and accountability regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal and the tragedy at Abbey Gate. However, according to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit to Staff Sergeant Hoover’s gravesite in Section 60, which lays directly next to my brother’s grave. We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly.”

[From The NY Times]

Yes, there was a TikTok. I’m including it below. The families who invited Trump are currently insisting that they gave their permission for Trump to photograph and record the visit. But that’s not their permission to give – there are Arlington regulations and federal laws about this. A campaign can’t barge its way into Arlington and start filming a campaign ad. That’s grotesque.

ANC is not releasing any further info about the incident at this time. ANC media policy: “ANC will not authorize any filming for partisan, political or fundraising purposes, in accordance with the Hatch Act, 32 CFR 553, and AR 360-1.” This was posted to Trump’s TikTok yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Gun7y03JHT

— Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) August 28, 2024

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed an incident took place between Trump campaign members and cemetery staff when former President Trump visited to commemorate the three-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack in Afghanistan.
@GarrettHaake reports on what happened. pic.twitter.com/LIISb89wd1

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) August 28, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid, social media.