President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. Park Police made multiple arrests connected to vandalism at the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and that repair work would start right away.
Trump posted on Truth Social:
The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Pool. Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair. President DJT
Trump said Friday his administration had “cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, DC,” but added that there had been “real problems with Vandalism” at the Reflecting Pool. He said individuals had damaged grass outside the pool and tried to harm the newly installed inside surface.
“Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed,” Trump wrote. “No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work.”
Trump added that the algae was “75 percent gone,” the remaining condition would “soon be completely remedied,” and the vandalized area was a “small area of damage” expected to be fixed early the following week. He added that law enforcement was investigating.
Reporter Emily Miller posted video showing law enforcement officers at the scene and what appeared to be torn blue sealant. Miller said a man allegedly jumped into the Reflecting Pool and ripped out a large piece of sealant before authorities arrested him. She also alleged in another clip that a man grabbed a hose from a National Park Service employee and was arrested, though it was unclear whether he was the same person accused of tearing up the sealant.
The Reflecting Pool has been a focus of Trump’s Washington, DC, beautification efforts. On March 31, Trump announced he and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were working to fix what he called the “absolutely filthy Reflecting Pool” and said the work should have been done under the Biden administration.
Burgum has said the pool had been leaking 45,000 gallons of water per day before the renovation. He said the work included draining the pool, sand blasting, repairing pipes and bubblers, and restoring the color, with Trump choosing American flag blue for the bottom.
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