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WATCH: Pentagon holds briefing after Army makes statement on Arlington cemetary incident

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh held a news briefing on Thursday after an Army spokesman said an Arlington National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” in an altercation with former President Donald Trump’s staff during a wreath-laying ceremony to honor service members killed in the Afghanistan War withdrawal.
Watch the event in the player above.
The cemetery employee, who has declined to press charges, was trying to make sure those participating in the wreath-laying ceremony earlier this week were following the rules, which “clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” the Army spokesman said.
“This employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption,” the statement said. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”
The incident was reported to the police, but because the employee decided not to press charges, the Army said it considered the matter closed.
The Trump campaign has been facing blowback since an NPR report said that two Trump campaign staff members on Monday had “verbally abused and pushed” aside a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and photographing in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
WATCH: Trump appears at Arlington cemetery event honoring 13 service members killed in Kabul bombing
Federal law prohibits campaign or election-related activities within Army national military cemeteries.
The Trump campaign has claimed the Republican presidential nominee’s team was granted access to have a photographer and has contested the allegation that a campaign staffer pushed a cemetery official.
Trump visited the venerable cemetery on Monday at the invitation of surviving family members to mark the third anniversary of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, which killed 13 American service members and more than 170 Afghans. Photos of the visit showed Trump standing by the graves with a thumbs-up next to relatives of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee. He also laid wreaths for Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, whose family was not present.

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