Nine Kennedy Family Members Ask Court to Join Lawsuit Blocking Trump’s 250-Foot Arch Near Arlington

Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a federal court on Tuesday to join the lawsuits seeking to stop President Donald Trump from building a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, arguing the structure would cast shadows over their relatives’ graves and block the view of the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite.

The family members filed a motion to intervene in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., joining cases already brought by the District of Columbia, Virginia, Arlington County, veterans and preservationists. The filing says the arch “will permanently cast shadows over and damage historically significant sight lines to the existing grave sites and memorials established in the Kennedy family’s honor at Arlington National Cemetery,” according to Reuters, which reviewed the filing.

The nine plaintiffs are children and grandchildren of the late Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy. They include Rory Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy, Christopher G. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Courtney Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, Joseph P. Kennedy III and Edward M. Kennedy Jr., according to court documents reviewed by People. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump appointee, did not join the filing.

A 250-foot arch at Memorial Circle

The proposed arch would stand at Memorial Circle, on a highway roundabout near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. A rendering shows a flame held by a 60-foot gold winged female figure, flanked by gold flying eagles. At 250 feet, the arch would stand more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial.

The Kennedys argue the arch would block the designed sightline from Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Kennedy gravesites, including the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame. Six members of the family are buried at Arlington: President Kennedy, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel Kennedy, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

“We cannot stand by while the administration violates the laws and procedures established by Congress to protect this most sacred national memorial,” Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy, children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, said in a joint statement Tuesday.

Construction already paused by a judge

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan temporarily blocked construction of the arch for 14 days on Nov. 5, barring the administration from starting any construction-related work near the site while she considers whether to issue a longer preliminary injunction. The pause runs through Nov. 19.

The first lawsuit against the project came in February from three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian, who argued the arch lacked the approval Congress must give. The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a separate suit late last month making the same argument. The National Capital Planning Commission had approved the project by an 8-4 vote, and the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior also signed off.

The Trump administration contends Congress approved the arch more than 100 years ago, when it authorized construction of a bridge across the Potomac River, and says the arch would honor veterans. The arch is being built to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, according to the National Park Service.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement that “it is unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the Arch as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery.”

Democrats in Congress have vowed to block construction once they take control in January, after winning November’s midterm elections. The court has not yet ruled on the Kennedy family’s request to join the case.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and People.