Trump alleges vandalism at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, says repairs will begin
President Trump claimed that vandals damaged the recently renovated Reflecting Pool and that arrests were made, though officials have not confirmed any arrests or sabotage.
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President Donald Trump posted on his social-media platform that United States Park Police had arrested several individuals for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which had undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation earlier this year. He said the damage included a 250-foot cut in the pool’s lining and the addition of corrosive chemicals, and announced that the pool would be drained for repairs.
No law-enforcement agency has confirmed the arrests, and Trump provided no evidence of the alleged sabotage. On Friday, Maryland resident and former Olympian David Hearn was arrested on a charge of destroying government property; he maintains he only touched a dislodged piece of the pool’s lining and denies wrongdoing.
Scientists told NPR that the recent green discoloration of the pool resulted from a natural algae bloom, a common occurrence in shallow, sun-exposed bodies of water, and not from any chemical attack. A George Mason University professor who sampled the water said the algae were not toxic.
The renovation, announced by Trump in April and intended to feature a "American flag blue" finish, expanded from an initial $2 million estimate to more than $14 million. A Virginia contractor received a no-bid contract, and an Ohio firm was paid about $1.7 million for nanobubble ozone technology used to address the algae. The project is also the subject of a lawsuit alleging that historic preservation reviews were bypassed, with a federal judge yet to rule.
The White House has not supplied evidence linking any vandalism to the pool’s discoloration or the structural damage described by the president.
