A US Army soldier assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery has reprimanded a group of aides and officials accompanying Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth after a Veterans Day ceremony.
The incident occurred on Wednesday after Hegseth posed for photographs on the steps in front of the tomb alongside his wife, Jennifer, chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh.
Footage of the incident showed the group wrapping up their photo session before a loud laugh was heard. The soldier on guard subsequently reminded those present of the rules governing behaviour at the memorial.
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” the soldier shouted.
Reacting to the incident, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the soldier acted appropriately by reminding visitors to observe the expected conduct at the historic site.
“While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum,” Parnell said.
“The Secretary and the entire Department have always honored — and will always honor — the sacrifices our military men and women have made to keep America safe,” he added.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is among the most revered military memorials in the United States. It serves as the final resting place of unidentified American service members who died during World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
Since 1948, soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, popularly known as The Old Guard, have maintained a continuous guard at the tomb, regardless of weather conditions.
Hegseth and his team visited the memorial as part of a wider Veterans Day commemoration attended by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The incident came a day after Hegseth survived an impeachment effort in Congress, narrowly avoiding a move initiated by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and supported by Democrats.
Although the attempt failed during Tuesday’s vote, further efforts to remove the defence secretary could emerge, particularly with Democrats expected to take control of both chambers of Congress in January.
Speaking at his first news conference in several months on Tuesday, Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort, insisting that he had committed none of the constitutional high crimes required to remove a government official from office.
He also argued that attacks against his leadership and management of the US military amounted to an insult to the country’s service members and their achievements.
“On the eve of Veterans Day, these resolutions tell every one of them that their service was a crime,” Hegseth said.
“This is not patriotism,” he added. “This is sabotage.”
Following Wednesday’s incident at Arlington, Democratic lawmakers criticised the defence secretary over the conduct of his entourage at the memorial.
Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin accused Hegseth of demonstrating what she described as his unfitness for the position.
“One day after narrowly avoiding impeachment, he shows his contempt for our men and women in uniform by disrespecting the sanctity of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” she wrote in a social media post.
The controversy is not the first involving members of Trump’s political team at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 2024, during his campaign for a second presidential term, Trump attended a ceremony honouring American troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
A member of his campaign team was reportedly involved in an altercation with a cemetery employee who attempted to stop two individuals from filming and taking photographs during the event.
Trump, who had been invited by families of the fallen soldiers, later posted a TikTok video showing his visit to the cemetery, accompanied by a voiceover blaming the Biden administration for what he described as the “disaster” of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
US law prohibits campaign-related and electioneering activities within national military cemeteries.
