Stunning moment Pete Hegseth and his staff screamed at by guard for laughing during solemn Veterans Day memorial: 'Pay respect!'

Sign up HERE for DC Insider - your free guide to what’s rocking Washington Published: 16:05 EST, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 16:45 EST, 11 November 2026 Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his top advisers were reprimanded for laughing at one of America's most sacred military monuments while at a Veterans Day ceremony.The secretary, his wife Jennifer Hegseth, chief of staff Ricky Buria, and other top Pentagon officials were standing together, taking pictures at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery after the ceremony on Wednesday. Following the impromptu photoshoot, the group of Pentagon staffers began walking away from the memorial when laughter rang out from the cadre. 'All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!' a US Army sentinel guarding the tomb yelled at the group after hearing their giggling. The sentinel, dressed in a ceremonial 'Old Guard' uniform and wielding an M14 rifle, was on patrol, pacing in front of the tomb, as is typical for members of the unit, before he turned to address them. After the sentinel yelled his warning, he turned and immediately continued pacing his normal route next to the tomb. 'The Secretary and the entire Department have always honored—and will always honor—the sacrifices our military men and women have made to keep America safe,' Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to the Daily Mail. 'While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.' Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and some top Pentagon staff were yelled at by a soldier for laughing while at Arlington Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after a Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday Hegseth was with his wife Jennifer Hegseth, shown above, when the group was yelled atPresident Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others also attended the ceremony. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is considered one of, if not the most, famous military memorials in the country. It marks the final resting place of an unidentified American soldier who was killed during WWI. Members of the Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the 'Old Guard,' have been keeping a watchful eye over the tomb every day, regardless of the weather, since 1948. The day prior, Hegseth gave a rare Pentagon press briefing to condemn a now-failed effort to impeach him. The impeachment resolution, led by anti-Trump, outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, accused Hegseth of 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' as well as the kidnapping of a foreign leader and ignoring laws to minimize civilian casualties.'What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability,' Hegseth said Tuesday at the briefing. 'It's a political spectacle.''That's what it is: policy disagreements, not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.'