WASHINGTON, June 29 (DC Times Online) — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said federal officials have made seven arrests in connection with vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and vowed that those responsible would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Speaking on Fox News, Burgum said investigators believe the damage ran about 350 feet and was cut with a box cutter or similar sharp instrument. He said the Reflecting Pool and other National Mall monuments are among the nation’s “most sacred monuments.”
The Interior Department said there had been seven arrests, seven federal citations and 18 police reports, according to a department statement. But public accounts have not matched exactly, with President Donald Trump saying in a Truth Social post that six people had been arrested and seven others cited.
A National Park Service representative and a recent court filing described the Reflecting Pool liner as having been cut with a sharp knife or razor, according to reporting from the BBC and WGXA. The available reports did not identify the arrested people or say what formal charges, if any, had been filed.
Burgum said fencing had been installed around the Reflecting Pool as officials dealt with the damage and prepared for July Fourth festivities on the National Mall.
