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WASHINGTON, DC, WSAU – Following the arrest of alleged vandals near the Lincoln Memorial, President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that a large portion of the water in the recently rebuilt Reflecting Pool in Washington may need to be drained for repairs.
“We met with contractors today; we 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,” Trump wrote in a post on the social media website Truth Social.
At least 12 people were arrested this weekend for allegedly causing damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, including a former US Olympian. David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist, stated he stopped while riding a bike past the memorial on Friday and observed a chunk of the pool’s liner in the water. Hearn competed in the Summer Olympics’ Whitewater Slalom Canoe event in 1992, 1996, and 2000. In addition, he earned five silver medals and two gold medals at the World Championship in 1985 and 1995.
On July 9, he is set to appear in DC Superior Court to face a misdemeanor charge of damaging government property based on allegations that he cut the liner with some kind of tool.
“What these terrible Vandals [sic] have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly,” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday.
On June 6, Trump said that the $14.7 million pool restoration project was finished. Workers soon began adding hydrogen peroxide to the pool to counteract an algal growth that had caused it to become green rather than the anticipated midnight blue.
The reflecting pool’s paint was flaking off the bottom and into the algae-colored water earlier this week.
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