Five people are said to have been arrested, accused of vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to a Trump administration official.
The pool, which recently underwent $15 million in renovations, has drawn criticism after algae started to grow in the water. The new blue coating at the bottom of the pool also appeared to begin peeling in some areas.
In addition to the five arrests, a senior administration official said five other people were issued federal citations and 14 police reports have been filed. That includes an incident Trump described in a Truth Social post, in which he alleged someone used a blade to slash a section of the pool.
Yet Trump administration officials have provided no charging documents or other records to corroborate such claims, and D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department told Scripps News it played no part in the arrests.
The Department of the Interior and U.S. Park Police did not respond to multiple Scripps News inquiries about the situation.
Meanwhile, at least one alleged vandal maintains he did nothing wrong, suggesting he only sought to touch one of the pieces of the coating that had already peeled off.
RELATED STORY | Why has the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool developed such visible problems?
Trump also alleged that chemicals had been illegally placed in the water and that new grass around the pool had been damaged.
“Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things - Which will be fully enforced!” Trump wrote.
RELATED STORY | 'Residual algae' coats part of newly opened Reflecting Pool
Trump's allegations are failing to sway area residents.
Anne Culbert, a dental hygienist in Alexandria, Virginia, claimed the president was "just pointing fingers that sombody's doing nefarious things."
"I'm sorry, it's the climate — just ill-advised techniques and things," she added.
In a statement to Scripps News, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which received the no-bid contract for the new Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool coating, said the areas in need of repair make up a “very small part” of the 7-acre project.
“These repairs can not be made until the pool is drained,” the company said. “As soon as its feasible for the Park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.”
On Monday, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a D.C.-based nonprofit that earlier this spring sued to challenge the renovation project, filed an update alerting the court to the latest controversies.
"This is the foreseeable result of Defendants’ decision to bypass the consultative process required by law and which must occur before the government can alter our nation’s most sacred spaces," the filing noted.
The organization asked the judge to consider the case on an expedited basis given the ongoing problems.
