Trump campaign staffers are said to have verbally insulted and shoved officials at Arlington National Cemetery

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Two members of Donald Trump's campaign team have been accused of verbally abusing and shoving an official at Arlington National Cemetery as the former president attended a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday.

A source said NPR The cemetery official attempted to prevent Trump staff from filming and taking photographs in a section of the cemetery known as Section 60, where the most recent U.S. victims are buried.

Arlington officials reportedly made it clear to the Trump campaign team in advance that only cemetery employees were authorized to take photographs or film in the area.

However, when the officer attempted to prevent Trump's team from entering Section 60, he was allegedly verbally abused and pushed aside by two unnamed staff members, the source said.

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed in a statement to The Independent that “there was an incident and a report was filed.”

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election activities at U.S. Army military cemeteries, including photographers, content creators, or others who are there for that purpose or who directly support the campaign of a partisan political candidate,” the cemetery's statement said.

“Arlington National Cemetery has reaffirmed this law and its prohibitions and has provided full communication to all concerned.”

In response to the allegations, Trump also reached out to Truth Social and released a statement overnight on behalf of the families of two fallen soldiers – Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover and Sergeant Nicole Gee – who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

In the statement, family members claimed that “the President and his team have behaved with nothing but the utmost respect and dignity toward all of our soldiers, especially our beloved children.”

The statement said the families had given their consent for Trump's official videographer and photographer to attend the ceremony to ensure “these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured so that we can preserve these memories forever.”

In response to a request for comment from The IndependentTrump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung denied that a physical altercation had occurred and said he would release a video to support his statement.

He also said that the officer who tried to prevent staff from entering Section 60 was “obviously suffering from a mental disorder.”

“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” he said in the statement.

“The fact is that a private photographer was allowed onto the premises and for some reason an unnamed individual, obviously suffering from a mental disorder, decided to clear the way for members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony.”

Cheung also directed The Independent to a post on X in which he had refuted the claim that the Trump campaign team had been told that they were not allowed to be filmed or photographed in the area.

Responding to a post by NPR correspondent David Folkenflik in which he appeared to share screenshots of an email reporting the alleged incident, Cheung insisted that “we were granted access to have a photographer there” and shared his own screenshot, which read: “Only former President Trump is allowed to have an official photographer and/or videographer outside of the main media pool.”

Trump's senior campaign adviser Chris LaCivita also sharply criticized the “despicable individual” whose attempt “to physically prevent President Trump's team from accompanying him on this celebratory occasion is disgraceful.”

“Whoever spreads these lies dishonors the men and women of our armed forces and shows no respect for all who have paid the price to defend our country,” he added.

The alleged incident occurred on Monday as Trump attended a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack that killed 13 soldiers during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Trump's visit to the cemetery also came under criticism after he was photographed giving a thumbs up and smiling in front of the graves of fallen soldiers.

Trump previously insulted veterans earlier this month by saying the highest civilian award was “better” than the Medal of Honor – awarded to military personnel for “outstanding valor” in the face of enemy fire – because veterans who receive that award “are either in very bad shape from being hit by bullets so many times, or they're dead.”

His comments sparked a wave of backlash, with Army National Guard veteran and Senator Tammy Duckworth condemning him as “despicable”: “Frankly, he is not fit to be commander in chief.”

She also referred to previous comments by Trump in which he allegedly called veterans “morons and losers.”