President Donald Trump has issued a stern threat to citizens who “even think about” vandalizing national monuments in response to the alleged sabotaging of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Taking to Truth Social, the president wrote: “This is what happens to people who desecrate, or even think about desecrating, our Great Monuments, Statues, or Fountains!”
He then provided a link to the website of California law firm Eisner Gorin LLP, which offers state and federal criminal defense, reciting the relevant law on the matter.
“Damaging or destroying property owned or controlled by the federal government is a federal offense under Title 18 U.S.C. 1361,” the firm reminds citizens.
“Convictions can lead to prison sentences of up to 10 years, depending on the value of the damaged property.”
Trump’s Sunday post – followed by others on his forthcoming White House ballroom, the FIFA World Cup, Communism and the Fourth of July – came after he “returned from a tour” of the monuments of Washington, D.C., and found them to be in “perfect shape”.
On the Reflecting Pool specifically, he said that it “is now in full use after suffering great damage from Criminal, Radical Left Vandals, people that truly hate our Country.
“They cut the lower surface of a very expensive and strong waterproof padding, in the color of American Flag Blue, and put their hands underneath the surface, and ripped it.”
“Likewise, they cut and butchered a 350 foot long strip, with many 1 and 2 foot individual cuts, creating great damage to this beautiful piece of art that was, last week, 100% free of leaks, and any of the other problems it has had since its building in 1922.
“It never worked properly until last week and, right after July 4th, when we will drain the water to treat the damage caused by these ‘animals,’ it will again be in perfect shape.
“In the meantime, it is working well, the criminally made algae is gone, and the grass, which was destroyed, is being replaced shortly.”
Trump has repeatedly blamed saboteurs for ruining his vision for the to “beautify” the 103-year-old water feature in a project now estimated to have cost $16 million.
Journalists and tourists flocked to see the damage before the president announced six people had been arrested and promised the structure would be drained and fixed “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July.”
Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt subsequently claimed the suspects had links to the Democratic Party without offering evidence.
With the National Guard deployed to defend the site and fences erected to prevent further incident, work is now underway to resurface the bottom of the pool and kill off the algae using hydrogen peroxide and vacuums.
However, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have demanded answers on how the situation was ever allowed to come to pass.
