Vietnam Veterans File Restraining Order to Block Progress on Trump’s 250-Foot Triumphal Arch
A group of Vietnam veterans—Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes, and Jon Gundersen—along with architectural historian Calder Loth filed for a 14-day temporary restraining order on Friday to halt preliminary work on President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery. Represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, the plaintiffs acted after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on X on Thursday that “excavation work” could begin within two weeks, even though the project has not received congressional approval. The arch is planned for Memorial Circle in Arlington, Virginia, and was unveiled as a model in October 2025; Trump told CBS News it is dedicated to himself and intended to surpass Paris’s 162.5-foot Arc de Triomphe. The plaintiffs argue it would disrupt sightlines between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery and contend the announced work violates assurances made in April that the National Park Service would provide online notice and at least 14 days’ warning before any construction or demolition.
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This story was covered in Birthday Millions and Monument Showdowns