Judge instructs Army to release records on Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery

The order is in response to request for information regarding Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery in August, where reports claimed there was an altercation between campaign staffers and a cemetery official over photography.

By Misty Severi

Published: October 22, 2024 8:17pm

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Army to release records related to former President Donald Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) in August, where there was an alleged confrontation between an Arlington official and the Trump campaign.

Trump participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the cemetery on Aug. 26, to mark the third anniversary of the terror attack at a Kabul airport in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. troops during the 2021 withdrawal.

Reports at the time claimed that during the visit, a cemetery official told a Trump campaign staffer that videography and photography wasn't permitted in section 60 of the cemetery and blocked it off, which resulted in a "verbal and physical altercation."

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on Tuesday approved a preliminary injunction that forces the Army to process and comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the government ethics watchdog American Oversight.

“Defendants shall produce responsive, non-exempt records on or before October 25, 2024,” Friedman said in his order.

The watchdog said it filed the FOIA request in August, and was "seeking records with the potential to shed light on the events” of Trump's visit.

“Specifically, American Oversight requested any report, including an incident report, regarding the alleged incident,” the group said, per The Hill. “This request would capture records, to the extent they exist, about ANC’s efforts to enforce and investigate any potential inappropriate political activity in a location where it is prohibited by law.”

The company said that despite the prompt request, it had gone unanswered.

Attorneys for the government countered at the time that granting the watchdog's request "would effectively allow [them] to jump the line ahead of other FOIA requests" that the military branch and Pentagon were working to fill.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.