Veterans Sue to Block Trump Arch Near Arlington Cemetery Over Historic Sightlines

Three Vietnam War veterans and a retired architectural historian filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction of President Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, alleging the structure would permanently block sightlines between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial that were deliberately designed nearly a century ago to symbolize national unity after the Civil War.

The 19-page suit, filed February 19, 2026 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names plaintiffs Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes, and Jon Gundersen, all Vietnam War veterans, along with retired architectural historian Calder Loth. The Public Citizen Litigation Group represents them. Named defendants include President Trump, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley, the Executive Office of the President, and the National Park Service.

"It will block historically significant reciprocal views between those two memorials that were consciously designed and that have existed for nearly a century," the group said in the filing. Gundersen, a former diplomat and chargé d'affaires who served 14 presidents, described the view from Arlington as "a sacred site" that "should not be desecrated."

Officially called the Independence Arch but widely nicknamed the "Arc de Trump," the proposed structure would rise 250 feet at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, a traffic roundabout on Memorial Drive between the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The height, equal to one foot for every year of American independence, would clear Paris's Arc de Triomphe by more than 80 feet and exceed the Lincoln Memorial by more than twice its 99-foot stature.

New renderings filed by the Department of Interior with Washington, D.C.'s Commission of Fine Arts on April 10, 2026 show a gold-accented, white neoclassical structure from Atlanta-based Harrison Design and lead architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau. A winged Lady Liberty statue holding a shield and torch crowns the arch; four golden lion statues flank its base. "ONE NATION UNDER GOD" appears in gold facing the National Mall, with "LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL" on the opposite face. The Commission of Fine Arts must approve the final design before construction can proceed.

The suit alleges violations of the Commemorative Works Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. The proposed site, within Lady Bird Johnson Park, falls under "Area I" of the Commemorative Works Act, which imposes additional layers of congressional authorization. Senator Angus King (I-ME), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, filed a bipartisan amicus brief opposing the project on those same grounds.

Trump first revealed the concept at a White House donor dinner on October 15, 2025, displaying a 3D-printed model and declaring the capital "the only city in the world that's of great importance that doesn't have a triumphal arc." He assigned Domestic Policy Council Director Haley to oversee the project in December 2025. A January 30, 2026 White House fact sheet formalized the plans under "Freedom 250" commemorations, targeting a July 4, 2026 completion to coincide with the nation's 250th birthday.

The project has drawn additional fire over its proximity to a Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport flight path and a funding shift from entirely private donations to a mix that includes taxpayer money. Trump also reportedly told one interviewer the arch was "for me," reinforcing perceptions of a personal legacy project. A separate administration proposal to replace the White House East Wing with a privately funded ballroom has drawn its own legal challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, underscoring how broadly the administration's ambitions to reshape Washington's physical landscape have run into legal resistance.