The redacted Trump campaign incident report at Arlington cemetery shows the investigation is ongoing

Heavily redacted documents obtained by the nonpartisan watchdog organization American Oversight suggest that the altercation between an Arlington National Cemetery employee and members of Donald Trump‘s campaign in August continues under active investigation.

ABC News was the first to obtain a copy of the data secured by American Oversight on Friday. But what the Army turned upside down reveals virtually nothing substantive about the confrontation that took place at the country’s largest military cemetery.

A lengthy affidavit has been completely redacted, except for this brief summary of the events that unfolded:

“While working at Arlington National Cemetery, (REDACTED) using both (REDACTED) hands while attempting to pass (REDACTED) did not require on-site medical attention and later refused when offered. (REDACTED) filed an affidavit on a prosecutor Form 2023 and stated (REDACTED) did not want to file charges,” the affidavit reads.

Perhaps the most striking revelation is the Army’s reasoning for redacting the incident report: In a letter to American Oversight accompanying the redacted incident report, the Army wrote that much of the document should be partially redacted because the information may be relevant for an ongoing investigation.

The military declined to provide the status of the investigation on Friday.

“We are pleased that American Oversight was able to get the report into the hands of the American public so they can see for themselves that there is still an ongoing federal law enforcement investigation into the August incident at Arlington National Cemetery,” Chioma said. Chukwu, interim director of American Oversight.

“The alleged conduct of the former president and his staff is in line with his history of politicizing the military and violating clear ethical boundaries, and it is time for the public to know all the facts,” Chukwu continued. “American Oversight will carefully review newsrooms and continue our fight to get information to the people.”

The letter also suggests that certain adjustments have been made to protect the cemetery employee’s privacy.

The August incident engulfed the legendary cemetery in a political firestorm. Reports of an altercation first emerged in late August, after Donald Trump visited the sacred cemetery to attend a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the deaths of 13 US service members in Afghanistan.

Members of Trump’s campaign were filmed in a part of the cemetery known as Section 60, where recently killed military personnel are buried, despite a federal law that bars political campaigns from using the grounds for election-related activities.

When a cemetery worker confronted members of Trump’s campaign, a verbal and physical altercation ensued, ABC News reported at the time.

The military issued a statement saying that a cemetery employee was “abruptly pushed aside” and that her professionalism was “unfairly attacked” while she was enforcing the rules.

The Trump campaign countered that their staffers had done nothing wrong and threatened to release exculpatory footage of the altercation, but never did.

American Oversight sued the military in late August over an incident report related to the incident, arguing that “this data is the property of the public,” Chukwu said.

On Monday, US Judge Paul Friedman ordered the military to hand over all relevant and non-exempt portions of the document to the watchdog group by Friday.