Multiple people have been arrested this weekend after allegedly vandalizing the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, prompting a strong response from President Donald Trump and an increase in security at the site.
In a statement on Truth Social Saturday night, Trump announced “many additional people” have been arrested after suspects “took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250-foot-long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete.”
The president also alleged suspects “poured corrosive and destructive chemicals” into the basin.
“It hasn’t looked or worked like this since 1922, when it was originally built, but even then, it leaked badly, and didn’t work,” Trump wrote in the post. “Ours worked perfectly, including the mirror like finish, perfectly reflecting the two Great Monuments, which it never had before! What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly.”
TRUMP SAYS VANDALS USED CHEMICALS TO DAMAGE NEWLY RENOVATED REFLECTING POOL NEAR LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Trump said administration officials met with contractors Saturday and will likely need to drain “much of the water” in order to do the necessary repairs.
It is unclear if the contractors mentioned are the same ones initially employed to carry out the renovations.
“[We] will have them done as quickly as possible,” the president wrote. “What they have damaged does not even include the earlier killing of a large amount of grass which was, by far, the least of it.
“… The Reflecting Pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago, even going back to 1922 when it opened. We are very proud of what we have done with this magnificent structure, and we will get it repaired, quickly, to an equal level of Beauty.”
The announcement came as the administration faces scrutiny over peeling paint and algae growth just weeks after a $14.8 million restoration project was completed.
While Trump did not specify who was responsible for the alleged gash in the lining and subsequent peeling, multiple arrests were documented over the weekend by local reporters.
TRUMP TAKES MOTORCADE INTO REFLECTING POOL, BLASTS PAST ‘$38M DISASTER’ FIX UNDER OBAMA
Journalist Emily Miller posted a two-minute video on X Friday showing a man in lime green racing gear questioning a National Guardsman before being handcuffed by U.S. Park Police.
The Washington Post later identified the man in Miller’s video as David Hearn, 67, a three-time Olympian who was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property.
Hearn told the outlet he had just finished a 52-mile bike ride when he noticed a “partially detached piece” of the new pool liner and “reached into the water to see what it felt like.”
The Bethesda, Maryland, native told The Associated Press he owned a company that made composite used to build watercraft.
While Miller claimed in her post that Hearn “grabbed” a hose that National Park Service workers were using to remediate algae growth, Hearn told The Washington Post the hose “may” only have been touched by his bike tire.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told the outlet.
Hearn, who was arrested in 1996 on charges of canoeing on the Potomac River but later had them dropped, said, “I didn’t destroy, break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already being handcuffed.”
Miller reported that seven people were detained Friday and five people were detained Saturday in separate incidents, which has led to a major security surge.
In an earlier Truth Social post Saturday, Trump questioned, “Who would do such a thing?”
“These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments,” the president wrote. “Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”
The White House, U.S. Park Police and Miller did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
