WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the iconic Washington, D.C. site increasingly becomes a flashpoint over the president’s $14-million-plus rehabilitation project gone awry.In a social media post, Trump claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a “350 foot gash” in the paint as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix the botched renovation before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration next week. Trump said another seven people were cited for damaging the pool. “It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump wrote.The Park Police and Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s assertion.
The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint as federal workers try to deal with an algae bloom in the water. The liner was installed as part of the project to repair the century-old pool, which included a new layer to its bottom in a color Trump has dubbed “American flag blue.”
