NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump said Friday that the White House is searching for a “vandal proof material” following alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
“The Reflecting Pool, so badly damaged by Deranged Vandals, has been emptied as the massive slash gets repaired. We got it through the great July Fourth Weekend. What kind of animals would do such a thing?” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“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,” Trump added.
There have been multiple arrests in relation to the alleged vandalism of the basin, with Trump saying in late June that “they 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,” and that “they also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the pool.”
LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL DRAINED AGAIN AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESUMES REPAIRS
Trump ordered a restoration project for the Reflecting Pool earlier this year as part of his effort to refurbish D.C. landmarks ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The project was later beset by an algae bloom, and sections of the new blue coating began peeling from the bottom of the pool.
FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN INDICTED IN ALLEGED REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM
According to court documents, U.S. Park Police responded to a report of damage at the Reflecting Pool on June 9. Investigators said caulk had been spread over foam sealant that had been cut with a “sharp knife or razor,” the newly applied surface coating had been damaged, and roughly 70 fence post caps had been thrown into the pool.
Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn was also 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, saying he stopped on a bike ride and touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen.”
Hearn, 67, has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Fox News Digital’s Ryan Canfield, Michael Sinkewicz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article here
