U.S. Park Police Arrest One Man, Cite Others After Touching Loose Coating at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

U.S. Park Police arrested five people and issued five citations for alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, an administration official said Saturday. Fourteen police reports were filed in connection with the incidents, the same official said.

One report described an unidentified individual using a blade to create a 250-foot gash in the pool's new surface. President Trump posted on social media Saturday that the Park Police had arrested multiple individuals. He described the acts as serious crimes against national monuments and said work on repairs would begin immediately.

A 67-year-old Bethesda, Maryland, man told The Associated Press he was detained for five hours on Friday after reaching into the pool to examine its new coating. He said he touched a piece of the material briefly before releasing it when a park worker told him to stop. The pool had been drained and resurfaced earlier this year as part of maintenance ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary.

After water was returned, algae appeared and sections of the new blue coating detached from the bottom. Workers removed algae and added hydrogen peroxide to the water earlier in the week. President Trump said Friday that the algae was 75 percent gone and that the damaged area was limited.