Arlington County sues to block Trump arch after project gets key approval

Reported by The Hill. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.

Arlington County has filed a lawsuit to block President Trump’s proposed triumphal arch following the project’s approval by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in April.

The lawsuit opposed the construction of the proposed 250-foot arch, citing concerns about the project’s impact on tourism and safety to local residents.

“Using the Arch to store large stockpiles of ammunition and as a staging point for drones and snipers, so close to commuters and tourists, will dramatically worsen these public-safety harms and the risk of accidents,” attorneys for Arlington County wrote in a complaint .

“The Arch will…directly obstruct the line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery that was deliberately created to symbolize the nation’s post-Civil War reunification,” the lawyers continued.

The legal team stated that Arlington County’s 245,000 residents would be “harmed by increased traffic” near the project’s site at Memorial Circle.

The lawsuit named the Department of the Interior and its Secretary Doug Burgum alongside the National Park Service (NPS) and acting director Jessica Bowron as defendants.