Report filed on Trump Arlington National Cemetery "incident"

• The campaign insists it was "granted access to have a photographer" at the cemetery for Monday's event.

Driving the news: Trump was attending a wreath-laying ceremony marking the third anniversary of an attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members as American forces pulled out of the country, which the former president has blamed on the Biden-Harris administration.

• NPR reports that Arlington officials had "made clear that only cemetery staff members are authorized to take photographs or film" in the area where recent U.S. casualties are buried and that a cemetery official was "abused and pushed" aside when they tried to stop Trump campaign staff from going to this area, known as "Section 60."
• A cemetery spokesperson said federal law "prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign."
• The cemetery "reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants" and "a report was filed" on the incident, added the spokesperson in the emailed statement.
• The cemetery did not immediately respond to Axios' request for more details on what the incident entailed, what kind of report was filed or what the next steps would be.

Of note: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) shared on X an image of Trump that the New York Times notes was taken from Section 60 alongside the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who was killed in the 2021 suicide bombing outside the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Zoom in: Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement shared with outlets including Axios that there "was no physical altercation as described."

• Cheung added, "The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony."
• Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita said in an emailed statement that the Republican nominee was attending on the invitation of the Abbey Gate Gold Star families.
• "For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump's team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed [sic] grounds of Arlington National Cemetery," LaCivita said.

• "Whoever this individual is spreading these lies are dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for defending our country."

What they're saying: The Trump campaign shared a statement from Cheryl Juels, aunt of Nicole Gee, a U.S. Marine who was among the American service members killed in the 2021 suicide bombing outside the main airport in Kabul, praising Trump for paying his respects and spending time with them.

• Juels said in the emailed statement that she "absolutely welcomed and appreciated having video and photography there with us during the time we spent" with Trump and added that she and her family felt ignored by the Biden administration.
• The campaign shared on X a joint statement from Juels and other veterans' families expressing support for Trump.

The other side: Max Rose, a senior adviser to VoteVets, a liberal veterans group, on X called the incident "sick and tragic" and accused Trump and his team of having no respect for fallen heroes and only caring about using the military "as a prop."

What we're watching: Cheung said the campaign was "prepared to release footage" if "such defamatory claims are made" as there being a physical altercation.

• He did not immediately respond to Axios' requests to share the footage.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.