Shortly after attending a graveside ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery with former President Donald Trump, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s reelection campaign used a photo of him at the event with the ex-president to solicit campaign donations.
And while Cox later said the emails should not have been sent, officials at Arlington said it’s against federal law to take campaign photos or videos at the final resting places for thousands of American veterans.
On Monday, Cox posted photos on social media walking side-by-side with Trump at Arlington National Cemetery. Tuesday evening, reports emerged that the former president’s campaign staff had a verbal and physical altercation with cemetery officials that day.
NPR first reported that when a cemetery official tried to stop Trump’s staff from filming and photographing in a section of the cemetery where recent U.S. casualties are buried, campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside.
Both Cox and Trump were invited to the cemetery by a Utah family to attend a ceremony for American service members killed three years ago in a suicide bombing at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. Among them was Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, referred to by friends and family as “Taylor,” from Utah.
Cox’s reelection campaign also used the ceremony to encourage support. In an email this week, asking for donations, the campaign included a photo of the governor with Trump and Hoover’s family.
“Monday, President Trump and I had the profound honor of standing alongside the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, one of Utah’s own, at Arlington National Cemetery,” the email read.
It continued, “As we remember the fallen, I encourage each of you to take a moment to reflect on their sacrifice. These 13 individuals gave their lives so that we might live in freedom and peace. Let us honor their memory by committing ourselves to the principles they fought for and by supporting their families in this time of need.”
Under Cox’s signature, the email said, “If you would like to further support our campaign please consider the following options:” and included buttons to display a yard sign or donate.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Wednesday morning, Cox wrote, “This was not a campaign event and was never intended to be used by the campaign. It did not go through the proper channels and should not have been sent.”
He added that his campaign would send out an apology.
In an email to The Tribune afterward, a campaign spokesperson said, “I’d refer you to the official office on this as this was not a campaign event.”
A spokesperson for the governor’s office responded to The Tribune’s questions saying, “Gov. Cox does not have any availability.”
A message sent to supporters Wednesday afternoon, which the campaign shared with The Tribune, echoed Cox’s earlier social media post. It added, “Honoring those who serve should never be ‘political.’ We’re committed, as we move forward, to ensure that we run the best campaign possible and we’ll accomplish that by not politicizing things that shouldn’t be politicized.”
In a statement provided to The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for Arlington National Cemetery confirmed there was “an incident,” but declined to answer questions about whether Cox’s staff was involved.
“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 statement said.
“Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants. We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed,” they added.
The spokesperson said no further information would be released to protect the identity of an individual involved in the matter.
A statement from Hoover’s family, which Trump posted on his social media website Truth Social, said the family had given approval for Trump’s photographer and videographer to attend the ceremony, “ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever.”
Darin Hoover, the fallen Utah Marine’s father, told The Tribune on Thursday that he does not take issue with candidates raising money using footage from the cemetery.
“It’s no secret that our family supports President Trump, it’s no secret who I support for governor — that’s not a secret at all,” Hoover said. “And if that can be moved forward, then so be it. I don’t have a problem with it, because those are the people that I support. They support us, and they’ve been there for us, and it’s not political to me.”
Hoover, a graduate of Hillcrest High, was killed on Aug. 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, while the U.S. military was withdrawing from America’s longest war.
Hoover, 31, was killed along with 12 other American service members just four days before the war’s end.
Trump has blamed the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the latter of whom will face him in November’s general election, for the disastrous withdrawal. But critics of the GOP candidate point to his negotiations with the Taliban on the timeline for ending the war as leaving Biden with few courses of action.
Both Cox and Trump, in recent months, have faced questions about their support for members of the military and veterans.
Since entering politics, Trump has made numerous inflammatory comments about veterans and troops, once allegedly calling Americans who died at war “suckers” and “losers.”
More recently, speaking at an event on antisemitism, Trump said the Presidential Medal of Freedom — awarded to civilians — is “much better” than the Congressional Medal of Honor “because everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead.”
The Tribune reported in July that the Utah governor took limited action in responding to allegations that the Utah National Guard’s top commander created an “extremely dangerous” environment in how he spoke to troops and dealt with sexual misconduct.
After receiving anonymous accusations in 2021, Cox called off an investigation after a private conversation with the now-former adjutant general. When his office became aware of an Army investigation into the general in 2022, the Cox administration spoke with Turley, Turley’s counsel, and two employees of the more than 7,000-member guard, then again closed the investigation.
The Army concluded its investigation with a “substantiated finding” in 2023, which, according to Cox’s office, led to Turley’s resignation last August. The ex-adjutant general has denied the claims.
In a heavily criticized move, Cox endorsed Trump last month in an about-face from previous opposition to the former president.