Kennedy Family Joins Lawsuit to Halt Trump's 250-Foot Arch

Nine members of the Kennedy family have joined a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., asking a court to stop Trump's proposed triumphal arch before construction begins. A triumphal arch is a large monumental gateway, usually built to honour a leader or a victory. The proposed structure is 250 feet tall, according to ArtNews.

Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy, children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, are among the new plaintiffs. A plaintiff is the person or group who brings a case to court. They are joining a legal challenge that was already under way.

The family argues that the arch would cast a shadow over the graves of relatives at Arlington National Cemetery, the military burial ground across the Potomac River from the capital. Their court filing also says the arch would block a sightline, or line of view, from the eternal flame at the grave of President John F. Kennedy. The view runs across Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial.

The arch recently won final approval from a commission allied with Trump. Hours later, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a federal judge, issued a 14-day restraining order blocking construction. A restraining order is a temporary court order that pauses an action while a case is heard.

Chutkan's ruling runs to 33 pages. It addresses three main questions. The first is whether the arch needed approval from Congress. The second is what it would cost Virginia and the District of Columbia. The third is whether it could disrupt traffic around Memorial Circle, the busy traffic circle near the bridge.

For the people who live and work around the Potomac, the questions are practical as well as symbolic. Roads, costs and cemetery views all depend on what gets built, and where. The 14-day order gives the parties a short pause while the court considers the case.