Army releases redacted police report on altercation during Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery

WASHINGTON – The US military has released an almost completely redacted version of the police report detailing when an aide to Donald Trump’s campaign allegedly pushed an Arlington National Cemetery employee who tried to prevent them from photographing a ceremony honoring soldiers killed during the withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan.

Federal law prohibits campaign or election-related activities at the Army National Military Cemeteries. The four sentences visible in the summary of the report released under court order on Friday block a key word that appears to describe how the Trump campaign official pushed the cemetery worker aside.

It does say the Trump staffer used both hands as he tried to walk past the cemetery worker. Both names have been redacted and the affidavit the cemetery worker gave to police has been completely blacked out.

Officials previously said the former president’s staffer pushed the cemetery worker when she tried to do so prevent two people from filming and taking photos Trump’s August visit to graves in Section 60, a sacred section where U.S. troops killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

The report says the cemetery worker refused medical treatment and said she did not want to press charges.

A lawsuit seeking the release of the police report was filed by the Washington-based transparency group American Oversight, and a federal judge ordered it be made public Friday. The group posted the report on its website.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidateis in a tight race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, and the altercation raised questions about his campaign’s politicization of the military.

Trump was at the cemetery at the invitation of military families and brought along staff to document the visit. He later shared a video of it on TikTok. The video showed scenes of him at the cemetery and included a voiceover from the Republican presidential candidate blaming the Biden administration for the “disaster” of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Chioma Chukwu, interim director of American Oversight, said in a statement that the group is pleased the report has been released so the public can see “that there is still an ongoing federal law enforcement investigation into the August Arlington incident. National Cemetery.”

Chukwu said the conduct of Trump and his staff “is consistent with his history of politicizing the military and violating clear ethical boundaries, and it is time for the public to have all the facts.”

In a letter accompanying the report, Army senior counsel Paul DeAgostino said the redactions were made to protect personal privacy and information collected for law enforcement purposes. He said the documents are part of an ongoing investigation and their release “could reasonably be expected to disrupt ongoing enforcement proceedings.”

The Army echoed DeAgostino’s comment, saying in a statement that it released the report to comply with the court order, adding that the police investigation “remains open and therefore we cannot provide any further information at this time.”

The employee declined to press charges, so it is unclear what law enforcement proceedings are underway.

Families of three of the soldiers killed in a suicide bombing during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan had invited Trump to a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the attack. They said the former president knew their children’s stories and blamed the Biden administration for their deaths.

Some families of those soldiers spoke out Trump’s support at the Republican National Convention in July, in part to soften criticism that Trump did not adequately support veterans.

In previous comments, the Trump campaign has alleged that the Republican presidential candidate’s team had gained access to a photographer, disputed the claim that a campaign staffer pushed the cemetery official and pushed back on any idea that the cemetery official had been unfairly attacked .

A defense official previously said the Trump campaign had been warned about not taking photos in Section 60 before their arrival and the altercation.

At a campaign event in Michigan just days after the incident, Trump said family members had asked to take a photo with him at the cemetery.

“They ask me for a photo and they say I was campaigning,” he complained without commenting on the TikTok video.