Utah Governor Cox issues statement after photos from Arlington appear in his campaign materials

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah Governor Spencer Cox issued a statement after photos taken at a memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery ended up in his campaign materials – which violates federal law.

Campaign staff distributed photos of a wreath-laying ceremony attended by former President Donald Trump.

However, the photos and videos taken by Trump's team have not yet been published in any of his campaign materials.

The incident came to light when Alan Wessman, the United Utah Party candidate for Utah County Commission, noticed that Cox's campaign used photos of the memorial service honoring the 13 soldiers who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Wessman posted a message to X along with a photo of Cox's mailing asking for donations for his re-election effort.

“Arlington National Cemetery prohibits the use of its grounds for political events,” Wessman wrote. “If an event there is advertised as a private memorial service, but campaign staff and photographers are present and the photos are used in campaign mailings, that is evidence that it was a campaign event.”

He shared a photo he received via email showing Trump laying a wreath alongside Cox and his family.

There was a message attached to the image. Below are parts of it that Wessman shared:

Dear ALAN,

On Monday, President Trump and I had the great honor of standing alongside the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, a Utah native, at Arlington National Cemetery. Together, we paid tribute to Staff Sgt. Hoover and the other 12 brave soldiers who lost their lives at Abbey Gate in Kabul three years ago…

As we remember the fallen, I encourage each of you to take a moment to reflect on their sacrifice. These 13 people gave their lives so that we could live in freedom and peace. Let us honor their memory by committing to the principles they fought for and by supporting their families in their time of need.

With grateful greetings,

Governor Spencer Cox.

If you would like to further support our campaign, please consider the following options:

The mailer then contained two buttons labeled “Host a Yard Sign” and “Donate.”

Cox responded directly to Wessman's post.

“You're right, Alan,” the governor replied. “This was not a campaign event and was not intended for the campaign. It was not sent through the proper channels and should not have been sent. My campaign will apologize.”

Later Wednesday afternoon, Cox released the following statement:

My campaign sent out an email this morning about an event I attended at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday. This was not a campaign event and should not be used by the campaign.

The email did not go through proper channels and should not have been sent. Honoring those who serve should never be “political.”

We are determined to continue to run the best election campaign possible. We will do this by not politicising things that should not be politicised.

Thank you very much,

Governor Spencer Cox

Wessman posted the statement to X, noting that Cox's statement was sent without donation buttons.

It was not immediately clear whether the message contained in the original letter was written and released by Cox for another purpose, whether the message was actually intended to be sent without the opportunity to donate, or whether it was written by someone on his campaign team but did not receive the governor's approval.

KUTV 2News asked the governor for an interview.