Organizers for Freedom250 disputed a story claiming over 30 gallons of fuel spilled onto the National Mall last month, saying the actual amount was about 2.5 gallons.
NBC News reported on Monday that during Freedom250’s “Rededicate 250” prayer service last month, over 30 gallons of fuel spilled out of commercial generators onto the National Mall. A spokesperson told the outlet that the spill was due to the generators being targeted by vandals, and the matter is under investigation.
However, the organization disputed a key detail of the story on Wednesday, telling Axios that the leak was from a 30-gallon fuel tank, but that only about 2.5 gallons leaked from this source. It added that the spill site had been fully cleaned up.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Freedom250 for comment.
Freedom250 is the White House’s response to America250, the Congress-established group tasked with organizing celebrations for the United States’s 250th birthday. Competition between the two has intensified as Independence Day approaches, heightening confusion among artists and potential watchers alike.
WHITE HOUSE DISTANCES ITSELF FROM FREEDOM 250 AMID CONCERT CONTROVERSY
Freedom250 has stressed its non-partisan nature, but many critics of the Trump administration aren’t buying it. Further complicating matters are issues of funding, financial transparency, and the sense of a rivalry between it and America250. The White House has openly distanced itself from the body after artists began distancing themselves from it over the attached political stigma.
The fuel spill at the National Mall was one of the biggest PR blows for Freedom250, and a full three days passed between the initial report of 30 gallons spilling and the counterclaim that only about 2.5 gallons spilled.