Washington, DC [US], November 11 : Members of the storied Kennedy political dynasty have filed a legal motion against the Trump administration in a bid to halt construction of a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, according to a report by CNN.
Nine relatives, including children and grandchildren of the late US Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, lodged the court filing in Washington, DC. They contend that the massive structure would obstruct sacred views of family gravesites, as well as “the memorials of hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes”.
As detailed by CNN, the family asserts that "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 lawsuit highlights that the monument's size and position would mar the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame when viewed from the Arlington Memorial Bridge, ultimately “destroying an essential element” of the site's original architecture.
Petitioners note that the administration has “raced forward to build” a landmark described as being “more than double the size of the Lincoln Memorial and the equivalent of a twenty five-story office building”.
Furthermore, the family states that "its location in Memorial Circle would situate the monument on an axis between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, obstructing a line of sight that was designed to represent the unification of the Nation following the Civil War and that has existed for nearly a century."
According to CNN, the Kennedys have intervened in an ongoing legal challenge initiated last month by the authorities of Washington, DC, and Virginia, alongside local veterans, preservationists and Arlington County.
Critics of the project warn that its towering scale will break the solemn atmosphere of military funerals and disrupt landmark alignments involving the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House.
Legal representatives for the family emphasise that relatives hold distinct legal standing to defend their kin's resting places.
"The gigantic proposed arch is an illegal interference with Arlington National Cemetery and the heroes remembered there, including at the gravesites and memorials of the Kennedy brothers and Ethel Kennedy. Only Congress has the constitutional power to authorise an intrusion of this magnitude," stated Norman Eisen and Steve Jonas of the Democracy Defenders Fund, as cited by CNN.
"Today, members of the Kennedy family are joining with the other litigants in this case to protect this historic site–and to defend the rule of law and separation of powers."
Legal hurdles have already slowed the administration's timetable. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day injunction last week prohibiting the executive branch from executing any “construction-related activity” near the designated site following a marathon public hearing that ended in a contentious vote.
While President Donald Trump has previously expressed ambitions to finish the project before the conclusion of his term, the timeline faces mounting judicial roadblocks.
An internal National Park Service review published in August conceded that the monument would generate “adverse” ecological and visual effects across 42 historical locations.
The initiative forms part of a broader series of urban redesigns championed by the president in the nation's capital, which detractors have frequently characterised as controversial vanity projects.
Arlington National Cemetery plots tied to the litigation include those of President John F. Kennedy, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.