President Donald Trump announced the White House is searching for vandal-proof material to protect the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after alleged attacks left the landmark damaged and drained.
The basin sustained a massive 250-foot slash during what Trump described as deliberate vandalism by “deranged” attackers.
“The Reflecting Pool, so badly damaged by Deranged Vandals, has been emptied as the massive slash gets repaired,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We got it through the great July Fourth Weekend. What kind of animals would do such a thing?”
“We are looking for a Vandal Proof material, but such a thing should not have been necessary. The Scum in Court will hopefully be prosecuted to the MAX.”
Multiple arrests have been made in connection with the alleged vandalism. Trump said the attackers used “some form of knife or blade” to carve the 250-foot gash into the newly renovated surface and poured “corrosive and destructive chemicals into the pool.”
The Reflecting Pool restoration was part of Trump’s larger effort to refurbish Washington landmarks ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
According to court documents, U.S. Park Police responded to a vandalism report at the Reflecting Pool on June 9. Investigators discovered caulk spread over foam sealant that had been cut with a sharp knife or razor, damage to the newly applied surface coating, and roughly 70 fence post caps thrown into the pool.
Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn, 67, was indicted on a felony destruction of property charge following his arrest in connection to a June 19 incident at the landmark.
Hearn denied damaging the pool, claiming he stopped during a bike ride and touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen.”
He has pleaded not guilty.
The project faced complications earlier this year when an algae bloom appeared and sections of the new blue coating began peeling from the bottom of the pool.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the administration’s vandalism claims after CNN questioned whether the damage was deliberate, telling the network “We can prove it.”
The pool has been drained again as the National Park Service works to repair the damage and complete the restoration ahead of the 250th anniversary.
