Family of Fallen Green Beret not happy Trump filmed in cemetery

Trump’s campaign also shot a TikTok video in the cemetery that showed him laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The video later showed him placing a bouquet on a soldier’s headstone in Section 60, where many troops who died in Iraq or Afghanistan are buried.

The New York Times reported that Trump laid a wreath at the grave of Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover, who was killed in the attack in Kabul. His family granted Trump and his campaign permission to film at his grave.

But the family of Master Sergeant Andrew Marckesano, who was buried next to Hoover, did not give Trump permission.

In a statement to The Times, Marckesano’s sister Michele said: “We fully support the family of State Sergeant Darin Hoover and the other families in their search for answers and accountability regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the tragedy at Abbey Gate.”

“However,” she told The Times, “according to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, Trump campaign staff did not follow the rules that were set for this visit to the grave of State Sergeant Hoover in Section 60, which is right next door. at my brother’s grave”.

“We hope that those who visit this sacred site will understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly,” she added.

Marckesano served several tours in Afghanistan but lost his life by suicide in July 2020. The Green Beret Foundation has since established the “MSG Andrew Marckesano Suicide Prevention Fund” to honor his life and raise funds for to support the mental health needs of Green Berets and their families.

Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, directed Business Insider to a segment of the Times’ reporting and highlighted a section of Marckesano’s sister’s statement. Cheung did not address the question of whether the campaign was allowed to film at Marckesano’s grave.

An earlier NPR report said two of Trump’s staffers were involved in a physical altercation with a cemetery official who tried to stop the campaign from filming and taking photos in Section 60.

The cemetery confirmed to BI on Wednesday that there was an “incident” at the cemetery and “a report has been filed.”

“Federal law prohibits political campaigning or election-related activities at the Army’s National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators, or any other person participating for the purposes of or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the statement read. .

It added, “Arlington National Cemetery has reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.”

Trump’s camp has denied there was a physical fight at the cemetery.

“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung told BI on Tuesday.

The Trump campaign had not released footage of the event as of press time.