{"id":693,"date":"2026-06-25T22:43:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=693"},"modified":"2026-06-25T22:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:43:38","slug":"park-service-echoes-trumps-reflecting-pool-vandalism-accusations-in-court-filing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=693","title":{"rendered":"Park Service Echoes Trump\u2019s Reflecting Pool \u2018Vandalism\u2019 Accusations in Court Filing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The National Park Service alleged in court documents filed this week that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool sustained \u201cdestruction of delaminating surface material\u201d and that an undisclosed portion of its fresh caulk was cut \u201cwith a sharp knife or razor\u201d days after the renovations were completed earlier this month.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Park Police observed the damage on June 9, according to the court documents. The court filings also allege that \u201capproximately 70 fence post tops\u201d were thrown into the Reflecting Pool. It is unclear whether that also occurred on the same day.<\/p>\n

The affidavit submitted by Frank Lands, the park service\u2019s deputy director for operations, under penalty of perjury, mirrors President Donald Trump\u2019s repeated accusations<\/u><\/span> that vandals used a knife to leave a long gash in the pool stretching, depending on when Trump has talked about it, 250 feet to 300 feet, and now, 350 feet long.<\/p>\n

Trump also said chemicals were<\/u><\/span> \u201cillegally placed in the water,\u201d which has turned green in parts because of what experts say is an algae bloom. Three ducks were found dead<\/u><\/span> in the vicinity, but toxicology reports have yet to determine a cause.<\/p>\n

Lands\u2019 court filing did not detail other acts of vandalism nor did it specify the scale of the damage to the caulking. No further evidence has been released by the White House to support its claims.<\/p>\n

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The White House said<\/u><\/span> on Thursday at least seven people have been arrested on suspicion of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool, including former three-time Olympian David Hearn, who denied wrongdoing. Hearn told ABC News<\/u><\/span> on Sunday that he only \u201creached out and touched\u201d a peeling piece of paint but otherwise did not \u201crip, tear, break, destroy or harm any part of the Reflecting Pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

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BULLETIN\/BOLO: The United States Park Police is seeking assistance in identifying the individual depicted here in connection with a Destruction of Government Property investigation. The incident occurred on June 19, 2026, at approximately 3:36 p.m. at the Reflecting Pool on the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/wZ6IIzcji1<\/p>\n

\u2014 USPPNEWS (@usparkpolicepio) June 24, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Park Police released surveillance footage<\/u><\/span> of an individual reaching into the Reflecting Pool on June 19 at around 3:36 p.m. Park Police said they were seeking to identify the individual in connection with an investigation into destruction of government property, though it was unclear what the person was doing in the short and blurry video clip.<\/p>\n

Authorities are also investigating a sizable imprint<\/u><\/span> of the numbers \u201c8647\u201d on the grass on the National Mall, a numerical sequence interpreted by the White House as a threat against Trump.<\/p>\n

Read more Senate Democrats Plan to Deploy Their Own Poll Observers for the Midterms<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A park official says in an affidavit there was damage but didn\u2019t say how big.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nPark Service Echoes Trump\u2019s Reflecting Pool \u2018Vandalism\u2019 Accusations in Court Filing - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=693\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Park Service Echoes Trump\u2019s Reflecting Pool \u2018Vandalism\u2019 Accusations in Court Filing - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A park official says in an affidavit there was damage but didn\u2019t say how big.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=693\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-25T22:43:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Park Service Echoes Trump\u2019s Reflecting Pool \u2018Vandalism\u2019 Accusations in Court Filing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T22:43:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693\"},\"wordCount\":469,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ca423245061bee05312e09fa09b9f251-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Trump White House\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693\",\"name\":\"Park Service Echoes Trump\u2019s Reflecting Pool \u2018Vandalism\u2019 Accusations in Court Filing - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ca423245061bee05312e09fa09b9f251-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T22:43:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=693#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ca423245061bee05312e09fa09b9f251-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ca423245061bee05312e09fa09b9f251-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1676,\"caption\":\"Algae collects on the edge of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. 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