Trump alleges Lincoln Memorial paint damage is vandalism, says arrests made – National
U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that several arrests had been made in connection with alleged vandalism at the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial pool in Washington, D.C., days after his $14-million-plus rehabilitation project was completed and the site was overrun with algae and peeling paint.
In a Truth Social Post on Friday, Trump said, “We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool.
“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.”
He offered no evidence to substantiate his claim.
On Saturday, he followed up, saying Park Police “have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Poll,” later correcting his spelling to “Pool.”
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
He went on: “Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail!”
One man arrested was David Hearn, 67, of Maryland. He told the Associated Press he stopped by the pool during a bike ride on Friday to see what was going on.
Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, told the U.S. outlet that he reached into the pool to examine the peeling paint. He said he briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to.
Hearn said he was then detained by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released Friday night.
“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said in a telephone interview. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”
Last week, staff began treating the pool with chemicals when algae appeared, but the blue paint soon started peeling off. In a statement to Global News last week, the National Parks Service said it had begun treating the pool with “high-tech nanobubble ozone technology.”
A piece of the new blue paint, a part of President Donald Trump’s renovation, peels off from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool on June 18, 2026, in Washington, DC. The algae levels also spiked days after the renovation, which cost around $ 14 million, was completed.
Christine Kao/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday morning that chemicals had been illegally placed in the water and that the surrounding grass field had been destroyed.
“Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” Trump wrote.
Monday’s post followed another from Sunday, in which Trump acknowledged that the reflecting pool will need further repairs to restore it to “an equal level of Beauty” as before.
“We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible,” the president wrote.
Prior to its most recent renovation, Trump blamed previous administrations for letting the pool turn a murky green, and said in April he’d paint it “American flag blue,” after calling it “filthy dirty” and saying it “leaked like a sieve.”
The more than 100-year-old monument has seen several renovations since it opened in 1922, including under former president Barack Obama, but the final bill was nowhere near Trump’s estimate, which, in a statement to Global News last week, the National Parks Service claimed cost “millions and millions” of dollars.
As for Trump, federal spending records show that costs are significantly higher than he claims.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
