Trump Says Arrests Made in Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case

President Donald Trump said U.S. Park Police have arrested multiple people accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, days after the landmark’s newly resurfaced basin showed peeling blue coating and its water turned a fluorescent green from algae.

“The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Poll,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social, misspelling “Pool.” “Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”

The National Park Service did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment. The Guardian reported that the Department of the Interior also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s statement.

One man who says he was arrested Friday denied damaging the pool. David Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, told The Associated Press he had stopped during a 64-mile bike ride and reached into the water out of scientific curiosity to touch a piece of the new coating that was still attached to the side of the pool. Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer who owned a company that supplied materials used to build watercraft, said he let go after a park worker told him to stop but was then detained by National Guard troops and Park Police.

“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”

The Washington Post first reported Hearn’s arrest. Hearn told the Post, “I didn’t vandalize anything. I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.” He said he was held for five hours, has a court date next month and is seeking legal help.

Trump launched an effort in April to address what he called the pool’s “terrible” condition as part of broader work on Washington monuments, memorials, statues and fountains ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday. He ordered the pool refurbished and turned “American Flag blue.” The Guardian reported the renovation cost $14.2 million.

Problems appeared soon after the resurfaced pool was refilled. Workers were seen removing algae, and crews poured bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the water Tuesday. The Interior Department said Wednesday on social media that “advanced nanobubbler technology” had “very effectively killed the algae” and that National Park Service staff were vacuuming dead algae from the bottom. The Guardian reported that later in the week, much of the water remained murky, algae was still visible in some areas and large flakes of paint were peeling from the basin and floating on the surface.

Trump acknowledged Friday that the pool had “real problems” and alleged, without providing evidence, that vandals had damaged the grass outside the pool and “done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.” He also linked the situation to the recent discovery of “86 47” etched into discolored grass on the National Mall. Authorities have said the numbers could have been meant as a threat to Trump, the 47th president; “86” can be slang for getting rid of something.

“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” Trump wrote.

Trump said Friday the algae was “75% gone,” the condition would soon be “completely remedied” and the damaged area was small and would be fixed early next week. CBS News noted that even if someone pulled ribbons of paint from the side of the pool, that would not explain clouds of algae in green water and swaths of loose blue paint detached from the bottom.

The Atlantic reported that laboratory testing it commissioned identified the algae as Scenedesmus, a genus of green algae. The New York Times reported that the administration awarded a no-bid contract to a business tied to a longtime Trump supporter to install the pool’s water-purification system.