“Collectively, hundreds of thousands of Americans have voiced their concerns about the lack of congressional approval, box check public process and the lack of meaning or purpose, size, scope and cost of this unlawful project. Today is a small win and we are determined to ensure this arch never gets built here." -- Jimi Shaughnessy
WASHINGTON – Today, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from starting unlawful construction of the Triumphal Arch for fourteen days, at the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery. As part of that ruling, the judge found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that Congressional approval is necessary before constructing a memorial on public lands that belong to all Americans.
This emergency relief was granted in Lemmon v. Trump, which consolidated lawsuits brought by Public Citizen on behalf of three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian, and by the Commonwealth of Virginia and Washington DC. National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA ) joined groups of advocacy, conservation and historic preservation organizations to submit a friend of the court brief in support of stopping construction. The groups are NPCA, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, DC Preservation League, and the American Institute of Architects.
The groups argue that the Trump administration’s failure to comply with numerous federal laws will have significant and permanent consequences for the National Mall, Arlington National Cemetery, and the surrounding national park landscape. At more than 250 feet, it would stand more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial, disrupt the historic connection to Arlington National Cemetery and permanently desecrate the viewshed of the National Mall. The location, design, and scale of the proposed Arch threaten the deliberate and historic design of the Capital’s monumental core and will unlawfully encroach on hundreds of thousands of service members and their families laid to rest here, and more than 40 historic properties. The groups are represented by O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Cultural Heritage Partners.
The groups celebrated the news by stating:
“We are grateful that the court has paused the construction of this egregious arch,” said Jimi Shaughnessy, USMC and NPCA Veterans Program Manager. “Collectively, hundreds of thousands of Americans have voiced their concerns about the lack of congressional approval, box check public process and the lack of meaning or purpose, size, scope and cost of this unlawful project. Today is a small win and we are determined to ensure this arch never gets built here.“
“For nearly a century, the extraordinary landscape connecting the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery has told a powerful story about American sacrifice, reconciliation, and national unity,” said Brent Leggs, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We applaud the court’s decision to protect this sacred landscape from a massive and deeply inappropriate construction project that would permanently undermine its historic meaning.”
"The administration is learning they cannot ignore the judiciary in the way they’ve ignored the public throughout the review process at the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, and by abruptly terminating Section 106 consultation, where "the views of the public are essential to informed Federal decision making,” said Charles A. Birnbaum, Founding President & CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation – a Washington, D.C. based education and advocacy organization.
“This fight is not just about halting a massive and inappropriate intrusion into a sacred American cultural landscape,” said Judy Chesser, chair of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City. “It is also about stopping the Administration’s anti-democratic effort to remake the nation’s Capital without the engagement of Congress and the public. This ruling stands for something very simple: it is about respecting the rule of law.”
“The view from the Lincoln Memorial across the river to Arlington National Cemetery was designed to tie the nation’s sacrifice to its promise. It is not a place for a president to build a monument to himself,“ said Emily Thompson, Executive Director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. “Today’s ruling affirms what we know to be true: these lands belong to all Americans, and no president gets to reshape them without Congress and the public having a say. Placing a structure twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial on the doorstep of Arlington National Cemetery would permanently scar a landscape that hundreds of thousands of service members and their families rest within. Once built, it can’t be undone, and the court was right to stop it before it starts.”
###
About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
