Mary Trump calls for investigation into Donald Trump's campaign team over Arlington cemetery incident

Mary Trump accused Donald Trump and his staff of 'desecrating the hallowed ground of Arlington'
PUBLISHED SEP 4, 2024
Mary Trump criticized Donald Trump for not taking responsibility for the alleged altercation at Arlington cemetery (Getty Images)
Mary Trump criticized Donald Trump for not taking responsibility for the alleged altercation at Arlington cemetery (Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA: Mary Trump, the estranged niece of former president Donald Trump, has called for the Army to investigate and potentially bring charges against the Republican presidential nominee's campaign team following an incident at Arlington National Cemetery.

An altercation reportedly took place on August 26, when Trump's staff allegedly clashed with a cemetery staff member who attempted to prevent them from filming video footage at a grave site.

Arlington National Cemetery incident

Donald Trump posed for photograph with the family members of deceased soldier at the Arlington National Cemetry on August 26, 2024 (@GovCox/X)
Donald Trump posed for photograph with the family members of deceased soldier at the Arlington National Cemetry on August 26, 2024 (X/@GovCox)

The incident occured during a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where Donald Trump attended to honor the 13 service members killed in a bombing outside Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport which took place during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Despite the cemetery's restrictions, Trump's campaign later released a TikTok video using footage from the memorial.

A frequent critic of her uncle, Mary Trump expressed her outrage in a blog post on "The Good in Us," accusing the former president and his staff of "desecrating the hallowed ground of Arlington."

The psychologist urged the Democratic Party to hold hearings and demand the release of the footage allegedly showing the altercation.

"The Army, which manages Arlington National Cemetery, needs to investigate and bring charges if necessary," she penned.

Military officials confirmed that creating campaign videos at Arlington is against the law, and the cemetery staff member involved in the incident reportedly declined to press charges due to fear of retaliation from Trump's supporters.

Denials and responses from Donald Trump and campaign

Donald Trump has denied that there was any altercation between his campaign team and the cemetery staff.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, September 3, he dismissed the reports as false, stating, "There was no conflict or 'fighting' at Arlington National Cemetery last week. It was a made-up story by Comrade Kamala and her misinformation squad."



 

Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung also downplayed the incident claiming that the cemetery staff member "tried to physically block" the team but denied any physical altercation occurred, according to Newsweek.

Mary criticized Trump, stating that he failed to take responsibility for the incident, lied about it, and shifted the blame onto Gold Star families.


NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 20: Mary L. Trump speaks during Jim Owles Winter Pride Gala Award Ceremony at Hard Rock Cafe - Times Square on January 20, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Mary Trump urged Army to take action against Donald Trump's campaign team after alleged altercation at Arlington cemetery (Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

"Donald, as he often does, compounded his original transgression by failing to take responsibility for it, lying about it, and then blaming the incident on the Gold Star families who invited him there in the first place," she wrote.

The alleged altercation has sparked calls for accountability, with many urging a thorough investigation into the conduct of the Trump campaign at Arlington National Cemetery.

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