President Donald Trump is hoping to find “Vandal Proof material” to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.
“The Reflecting Pool, so badly damaged by Deranged Vandals, has been emptied as the massive slash gets repaired,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “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 described the so-called vandals as “animals,” though his administration has provided scant evidence that the peeling sealant and the emergence of algae were caused by a third party. The president spent more than $16 million resurfacing the bottom of the pool “America Flag blue” and on a new nanobubble filtration system through no-bid contracts.
Four people have been prosecuted over allegations they damaged the pool, including former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who says he only put his hand in the water to inspect a piece of peeled sealant but released it when he was instructed to by a park worker.
Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., this month and charged with destruction of property with a value of more than $1,000.
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Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court last week and, if convicted, could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Trump has repeatedly claimed the peeling sealant was prompted, in part, by vandals putting a 300-foot-long “slit” or “gash” in the basin, possibly with a “box cutter or knife.”