The U.S. Army has released a heavily redacted version of the police report describing a reported altercation involving one of Donald Trump‘s campaign staff at Arlington National Cemetery in August.
Trump was invited to Arlington—the resting place of over 400,000 U.S. service members, veterans and their families—for a wreath-laying ceremony on August 26 to honor the 13 service members killed during the Afghanistan War withdrawal in 2021. His invitation was given by some of the families of the deceased service members.
There were reports that one of Trump’s staffers shoved a cemetery official who was trying to prevent them from using photography while at Arlington. Federal law prohibits campaign or election-related activities within Army national military cemeteries.
The four sentences visible in the executive summary of the report, released under court order on Friday, block out a key word that appears to describe the staffer shoving the cemetery employee out of the way. But it does say that the staffer used both hands while trying to move past the cemetery employee.
Both the names are redacted, and the sworn statement the cemetery official gave to police is completely blacked out. The report adds that the cemetery worker declined medical treatment and did not want to press charges.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign and Arlington National Cemetery for comment via email.
Donald Trump placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in August. One of Trump’s campaign staffers was reportedly involved in an altercation during the event.
Alex Brandon/AP
A lawsuit demanding the release of the police report was filed by Washington-based government transparency group American Oversight, and a federal judge ordered it to be made public by Friday. The group posted the report on its website.
Chioma Chukwu, the interim executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement that the group was pleased it was able to release the report so that the public could see “that there is still an ongoing federal law enforcement investigation into the August incident at Arlington National Cemetery.”
Chukwu said the conduct of Trump and his staff “aligns with his history of politicizing the military and violating clear ethical boundaries, and it’s time for the public to have all the facts.”
In a letter accompanying the report, Army senior counsel Paul DeAgostino said the redactions were done to protect personal privacy and information compiled for law enforcement purposes.
He said the records are part of an ongoing investigation and their release “could reasonably be expected to interfere with 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 we are therefore unable to provide further information at this time.”
The employee declined to press charges, so it is unclear what law enforcement proceedings are ongoing.
In previous comments, the Trump campaign has claimed his team was granted access to have a photographer at the event, contested the allegation that a campaign staffer had pushed the cemetery official, and pushed back on any notion that the cemetery official had been unfairly targeted.
A defense official previously said the Trump campaign was warned before their arrival about not taking photographs in Section 60, where service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are laid to rest.
During a campaign event in Michigan several days after the incident, Trump said family members had asked to take a photo with him at the cemetery.
“They ask me to have a picture, and they say I was campaigning,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
