John F. Kennedy’s gravesite and Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery, October 24, 2017. U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery; public domain. Cropped. File photo, not the proposed arch.
Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a federal court Tuesday to let them join the legal fight to block President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch, arguing that the structure would damage the setting of their relatives’ gravesites and the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery.
The filing adds the family’s claimed personal harm to the dispute over whether the administration can build the monument without new authorization from Congress. It is a request to intervene, not a ruling admitting the relatives to the case or granting them an injunction.
The November 10 motion, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, asks to join two consolidated cases challenging the planned Independence Arch at Memorial Circle, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The relatives say the arch would obstruct views of the Kennedy gravesites and Eternal Flame from Arlington Memorial Bridge, disrupting sightlines they describe as central to the memorials’ design. They also allege it would cast shadows over the graves and alter the family’s visits.
In their proposed complaint, the relatives say they often visit early in the morning, before the cemetery opens, for privacy. They argue that shadows would be most pronounced at precisely that time. Those are the family’s allegations, not findings by the court.
The nine relatives are Rory Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Christopher G. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Courtney Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, Joseph P. Kennedy III and Edward M. Kennedy Jr. They are children and a grandchild of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and a son of Edward M. Kennedy.
The proposed complaint challenges the construction authorization under the Administrative Procedure Act, the Commemorative Works Act and a federal law requiring express congressional authority for structures on federal public grounds in Washington. It also alleges that officials acted beyond their legal powers.
The relatives ask the court to set aside the authorization and issue preliminary and permanent injunctions barring approval or construction without congressional authorization and compliance with required procedures. Their claims of illegality remain to be decided.
The motion says the National Capital Planning Commission approved the arch’s site and building plans November 5. The two underlying lawsuits were consolidated October 31.
Existing plaintiffs take no position on the family’s intervention request, according to the motion. The defendants had been notified but had provided no substantive response as of the filing. The relatives are represented by Democracy Defenders Fund.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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