WASHINGTON – The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a landmark at the heart of the nation’s capital, has recently suffered vandalism, according to officials from the National Park Service. A sharp instrument, possibly a knife or razor, was used to cut the liner along its bottom, damaging the foam sealant integral to a $16 million renovation effort.
Frank Lands, Deputy Director of Operations for the Park Service, stated in a court document filed on Wednesday that this incident had been reported to the U.S. Park Police on June 9. This filing is connected to an ongoing lawsuit initiated by a nonprofit organization aiming to stop the Trump administration’s continuation of the project.
According to the police report, the Reflecting Pool sustained damage beyond the compromised liner. The report mentions that approximately 70 fence post tops were also thrown into the pool as part of the vandalism. The damage extended to a caulk over the foam sealant, cut with a sharp blade, and other surface material becoming delaminated.
These revelations are the first substantial details shared by the Republican administration regarding the timing and manner of the Reflecting Pool’s damage, following the completion of significant project work.
While President Donald Trump and other officials have attributed the peeling paint and a significant “350-foot gash” in the liner to unidentified vandals, no concrete evidence has been provided. Nonetheless, President Trump mentioned this week that six individuals have been arrested in connection to these incidents, although further details have yet to be disclosed.
Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations, draining its water and directing the bottom to be painted a color he called “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating have appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
His administration faces a self-imposed deadline to complete the renovation before July Fourth. Trump also has said the federal government would release images to substantiate his claim.
Trump said Wednesday that “sick people” had used razors and box cutters to slice portions of the lining.
The U.S. Park Police posted surveillance footage Wednesday evening and asked for help “identifying the individual depicted here in connection with a Destruction of Government Property investigation.” The grainy, 30-second video appears to show a person kneeling down, reaching into the reflecting pool and removing something from the water. Police said it was taken Friday afternoon.
In his statement to the court, Lands said the parks agency plans to begin draining the Reflecting Pool following Independence Day celebrations to conduct repairs, including assessing and repairing any damage to the lining.
The park service completed more than two months of renovations at the Reflecting Pool in early June. The 2,000-foot-long basin was drained and a tinted. plastic-like rubber lining was installed to waterproof and protect the concrete pool surface, and the pool was refilled with water, Lands said.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation, an education and advocacy group that sued in May to halt work on the project, asked a federal judge to block further renovations.
“It is also not too late to correct course,” the group wrote in a filing Monday. It urged the administration to “engage with experts and the public, and make an informed decision about what is best based on the consultations mandated by the law, instead of once again rushing ahead with half-baked ideas.”
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Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.
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