President Trump warned Monday that anyone vandalizing monuments in Washington faces a 10-year prison sentence for the destruction or attempted destruction of federal property.
Mr. Trump promised in a social media post that this law “will be fully enforced.”
He said that of the many statues and fountains the administration rebuilt renovated, cleaned and fixed, only the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was vandalized, which he said is “being taken care of, ASAP!”
He said it had been given a “300-foot-long gash” and that chemicals had been “illegally” placed in the pool’s water.
Mr. Trump also said the new grass field around the perimeter of the pool had been destroyed with a massive “86 47” that was chemically carved into it.
The number “86” can be used as a slang term for “get rid of” or “eliminate.” Mr. Trump is the 47th president. The president blamed former FBI Director James B. Comey, whom he referred to as a “Dirty Cop,” for inspiring such an act.
Last year, Mr. Comey posted a photo on Instagram depicting seashells on the beach arranged to read “86 47,” which many interpreted as advocating for killing Mr. Trump.
A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Mr. Comey took the seashell photo, indicted the former FBI director on two counts, threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Mr. Trump had said Saturday that vandals damaged the Reflecting Pool, and the problems are so severe that it will have to be at least partially drained for “necessary repairs.”
Mr. Trump also posted on Truth Social that “multiple individuals” had been arrested for vandalizing the pool on the National Mall.
Only one person has been arrested: David Carter Hearn, 67, a three-time Olympian in cycling and canoeing, is charged with destruction of government property.
Mr. Hearn says he is innocent and that the arrest was a misunderstanding, saying that he was simply reaching down to grab a strip of peeling blue paint that was floating in the algae-covered pool.
Problems with the pool emerged about two weeks after the more than $14 million renovation was completed.
The water has become filled with algae, covering the floor that had been painted with what Mr. Trump called “American flag blue,” and the paint started to peel.
