“I was just told by the people over at Parks, they have five people arrested and five people are under investigation right now.”
In a press conference in the Oval Office on Monday, President Trump confirmed that five people have been arrested for vandalism targeting the newly restored Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, and that five additional people are under investigation for the destruction.
Speaking with reporters, Trump said that there is a 350-foot-long slit cut into the Reflecting Pool’s new lining, with the perpetrator using “probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind,” and people were lifting up the lining.
Trump said, “it’s not a lot of damage,” but that workers will likely have to drain the pool again to conduct repairs. “I was just told by the people over at Parks, they have five people arrested and five people are under investigation right now.”
Trump also noted the recent act of vandalism that took place not far from the Reflecting Pool, where vandals marked out “86 47” in the grass. “They destroyed the grass, so that’s a big thing. But we’re going to get it back very soon.”
Trump was asked whether there was video or photo evidence of the vandalism taking place at the Reflecting Pool, to which he said, “let’s put it this way, when you have a 350, I think it’s 350 not 350, a 350-foot slit from one end to the other, you think that’s proof?”
Trump referred the reporter to the Parks Department and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, adding, “I saw it. They cut it, they cut it very violently. The same thing with the floor, they cut it, and then they lifted it, they pulled it, and that’s what it is.”
Repairs to the Reflecting Pool were finished on June 6, at which time workers began refilling it. Not long after it was refilled, Trump said that vandals struck the pool with chemicals, leading to algae building back up in the pool.
