Nine members of the Kennedy family have moved to block a 250-foot arch that President Donald Trump intends to erect near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
The family contends the monument would obstruct views toward the burial site of former President John F Kennedy and the graves of thousands of military veterans. In their legal filing, they warn it would "permanently cast shadows over" those gravesites and "fundamentally alter the experience" of visitors paying respects there.
The lawsuit names seven descendants of Robert and Ethel Kennedy as plaintiffs, along with their grandson Joe Kennedy, a former Democratic congressman, and Edward Kennedy Jr, son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Robert F Kennedy Jr, who now serves as head of the Department of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration, is not part of the action.
The Kennedy family's motion to intervene joins separate litigation initiated by Virginia, Washington DC, conservationists and veterans' groups all seeking to stop the project.
The National Capital Planning Commission approved the arch last week. A federal judge, Tanya Chutkan, subsequently imposed a two-week halt to construction while legal proceedings continue.
The White House characterized the arch as "intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery." Spokesman Davis R Ingle told the BBC that "the judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation" and stated the administration expects to "be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds."
According to the Kennedy family's complaint, the National Park Service and Interior Department authorized the project on November 5 without securing required approval from Congress. The structure, sometimes referred to as the Arc de Trump, forms part of the president's broader initiative to reshape the capital and mark the nation's 250th anniversary.
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