…#GoldStarFamilies do not have the power to suspend the rules at #Arlington, where #Section60 is an…on-going memorial to hundreds of recent war dead that, like the entire cemetery, is meant to be above #politics.

The family of Master Sgt Andrew Marckesano, a #GreenBeret who died by suicide after serving multiple combat tours & who is buried in Section 60, said…,”the #Trump campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit."

Cheung also said they were granted access to have a photographer present, & pointed to a statement from Gold Star family members [who don’t have the authority to grant access] that invited #Trump to attend the ceremony.

The campaign also released a TikTok video that included video footage from #Section60, including a smiling Trump flashing a thumbs up w/family members at the gravesites. But other tombstones are visible in the picture,

Caporale was was also listed as the on-site contact & project manager for the Women for America First rally in DC on #Jan6, 2021 where #Trump urged the crowd to “stop the steal” [& to go to the Capitol] before many of them violently stormed the US Capitol.

#ArlingtonNationalCemetery rules, that had been made clear to the Trump campaign in advance, say that only an ofcl #Arlington photographer can take pictures or film in #Section60.

#disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #USpol 
#HarrisWalz2024

#Trump’s fmr aides have said he similarly disparaged #ServiceMembers in private….Ret Gen #MarkMilley, fmr chair of the #JointChiefs, said Trump responded to appearing w/a wounded #veteran by saying, “No one wants to see that.” His fmr chief of staff, #JohnKelly, said Trump called US #Marines buried at cemeteries in France “suckers” & “losers.”…Kelly has also said Trump told him during a previous visit to #Section60 at #ArlingtonNationalCemetery, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”

“That’s not the time or place for it,” said Karen Meredith, a #VoteVets board member whose son, 1st Lt. Ken Ballard, is buried in the second row of #Section60. “They had to #bully themselves into this thing. The lack of #respect for the rules or the norms or the #laws at #Arlington — there’s just no respect.”

#law #disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024

…Other #veterans & bereaved families viewed #Trump’s visit as #disrespectful to a sacred space that also belongs to them & to the nation. #Section60 is a place where young widows can be seem trimming grass w/hand scissors, sharing comfort w/other #GoldStarFamilies, & decorating graves w/flowers & beads. Visitors have long taken graveside photographs there, & sitting presidents have visited before, but not as part of #campaign events.

#law #military #ServiceMembers #Arlington
#HarrisWalz2024

In addition to the #campaign’s TikTok video, #Trump posed for photos on Monday at the graveside of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee w/her family [in #Section60], including 1 where he is giving a thumbs-up & others are smiling. Eaton called the gesture “appalling.”

The campaign also defended itself w/a joint statement from the 2 injured Marines who appeared w/Trump & the families of some of the #ServiceMembers killed, saying they wanted Trump & his cameras there [irrelevant & illegal].

…Co-campaign manager #ChrisLaCivita, who was present Monday along w/other #campaign employees, in a statement called the #cemetery employee “a despicable individual” who “does not deserve to represent the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.” [mother f⁕⚠︎er!!] LaCivita posted video on X on Mon of #Trump laying flowers at the grave of Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, a soldier killed in the explosion, & speaking to his family on the phone [video all taken in #Section60].

#law
#HarrisWalz2024

The press then returned to a holding area, specifically instructed that reporters & cameras would not accompany #Trump & bereaved families to #Section60.

But Trump ofcls said they did not view the #campaign’s own photographer & videographer [who weren’t allowed to be anywhere there as campaign staff in the first place] as subject to the same restrictions, so they continued on to Section 60. Their arrival there prompted the standoff w/the #ArlingtonNationalCemetery employee over the rules.

Reporters & photographers could follow #Trump for a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, but not to the 14-acre plot where #veterans from recent wars are buried, known as #Section60. The media was kept away, unable to see the altercation —or anything else, for that matter— during that part of his visit.

The 1st part went according to plan. W/full media coverage, Trump & 2 injured Marines…laid a wreath at the tomb…dedicated to deceased #US troops whose remains have not been ID’ed or recovered.

“What was abundantly clear cut was: #Section60, no photos & no video,” the #defense official said.

A person familiar w/the matter told NPR, which 1st reported the incident, that the #Trump campaign staff pushed & verbally attacked a #cemetery ofcl who tried to stop them from taking photos & videos in Section 60.

…Trump campaign comms dir #StevenCheung said that…the campaign was…“prepared to release footage” to defend against “defamatory claims.”
[they haven’t, probably bc it doesn’t exist]

#US #Defense ofcls said a confrontation occurred during the event in which a #cemetery staff member warned people employed by the #Trump campaign that while they were permitted to take photos & videos in the cemetery, they could not do so in #Section60, the final resting place for many US #ServiceMembers who were killed in recent conflicts….Guidance was issued to the campaign both before the event & again once they were on-site due to #legal restrictions on #campaign-related activities there….

#Trump campaign posts #video from #ArlingtonCemetery after altercation

A #US #defense ofcl said the Trump campaign was told repeatedly that they could not capture photos & video in #Section60, the final resting place of many recent fatalities.

Trump posted video from #ArlingtonNationalCemetery 2 days after the altercation in which defense ofcls said #cemetery staff sought to enforce guidelines the campaign had received.

#law #military #ServiceMembers
#HarrisWalz2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/27/trump-arlington-cemetery-npr-incident/