US election 2024 current: Harris criticizes Trump for behavior at military cemetery – Politics

According to media reports, an incident occurred during a visit by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to Arlington National Cemetery. As the US radio station NPR reported, citing an anonymous source, two employees of Trump's campaign team got into a “verbal and physical altercation” with a cemetery worker. The incident occurred on Monday during a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of the 13 US soldiers who died during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. According to NPR, a cemetery worker tried to stop Trump's team from filming and taking photos in an area with soldiers' graves. The campaign worker then verbally attacked the employee and pushed her aside.

Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung denied the report and said there had been no physical altercation. The cemetery administration confirmed an incident but did not provide any details. It stressed that political campaign activities at military cemeteries are prohibited by law. According to a media report, the employee refrained from filing a complaint because she feared retaliation from Trump supporters.

The New York Times The family of a US soldier buried in the cemetery then expressed their concerns after the incident became known. The grave of their relative, Master Sergeant Andrew Marckesano, was seen in a photo published by Trump's campaign team and was accompanied by critical comments about the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021. The other family of a soldier, Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover, had allowed Trump to release the film in front of his grave. The family of Marckesano, whose grave was right next to it, had not given such permission.

The soldier’s sister explained to the New York Timesthat her family supports others seeking answers related to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. “However,” she added, “according to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump campaign staff did not follow the rules set for this visit to Staff Sergeant Hoover's gravesite in Section 60, which is right next to my brother's grave.” And: “We hope that those who visit this sacred site understand that these are real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they will be honored and respected accordingly.”