Nine members of the Kennedy family filed a federal lawsuit in Washington on Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch, arguing the monument would cast a shadow on the grave sites of President John F. Kennedy and other relatives at Arlington National Cemetery.
The legal challenge joins an existing lawsuit brought by the city of Washington, D.C., the Commonwealth of Virginia, Arlington County, and several veterans and preservationists, according to the Cable News Network.
The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says. https://t.co/VpZhNvx7So
The family members argue that the scale and placement of the structure would obstruct the clear vantage point of the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame from the Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The complaint asserts that the arch would disrupt a sightline designed to represent post-Civil War national unification. The family said in their filing that the project would obstruct views of memorials honoring hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes.
'These are the actions of a petty tyrant who can't get his way' JFK's niece Kerry Kennedy responds to President Trump's mission to put his name on the Kennedy Center and a photo that appears to show the President looking at a poster that says 'Kennedy Center Demolished.' pic.twitter.com/gcte7Qf0oY
The structure, designed to sit on Memorial Circle across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, is described in the legal action as more than double the size of the Lincoln Memorial and equivalent to a twenty-five-story office building.
President Donald J. Trump is attempting to unlawfully erect a massive arch that will permanently cast shadows over and damage historically significant sightlines to the existing gravesites and memorials established in the Kennedy family’s honor at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as to the memorials of hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes.
The Kennedy family, via Cable News Network
The plaintiffs include Rory Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy, Christopher G. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Courtney Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph Kennedy II, Joseph Kennedy III, and Edward M. Kennedy Jr. President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy are buried at the cemetery, alongside first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s wife, Ethel Kennedy, and other relatives, including Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said that the project affected national principles. The family’s legal action follows previous friction between the Kennedy family and the Trump administration regarding federal properties, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“protecting sacred spaces that belong to the American people” Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy, speaking on behalf of the family, said.
The commission’s approval followed public testimony from figures including retired Army veteran Joel Mjolsness, a Bronze Star recipient who served in the Old Guard at Fort Myer, and Michael Lemmon, a Vietnam War veteran who testified before the commission.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan blocked any work from starting within an hour of that vote. Chutkan said in her 33-page opinion that the arch required approval from Congress and that construction could prove costly while disrupting traffic at the cemetery.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle defended the project, and said that the administration was “confident” it would see the eventual completion of the project, The Daily Beast reported.
We are confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds and look forward to seeing the completion of this magnificent Arch — a tribute to 250 years of American greatness.
Davis Ingle, White House Spokesperson, via CBS News
Earlier coverage: Kennedy Family Files Motion to Block Trump's Arlington Arch
Kennedy family joins fight to stop Donald Trump’s ‘triumphal arch’ in DChttps://t.co/DvlaGg6Fqt
More on Rory Kennedy
BREAKING: The Kennedy family has filed for an injunction against President Trump's arch, saying it would destroy the solemn memorial to the Kennedy family at Arlington National Cemetery, disrupting sightlines and casting a shadow over JFK + RFK graves. https://t.co/lLJMoXsrEN pic.twitter.com/nvD2XvprJI
