The National Park Service alleged in court documents filed this week that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool sustained “destruction of delaminating surface material” and that an undisclosed portion of its fresh caulk was cut “with a sharp knife or razor” days after the renovations were completed earlier this month.
U.S. Park Police observed the damage on June 9, according to the court documents. The court filings also allege that “approximately 70 fence post tops” were thrown into the Reflecting Pool. It is unclear whether that also occurred on the same day.
The affidavit submitted by Frank Lands, the park service’s deputy director for operations, under penalty of perjury, mirrors President Donald Trump’s repeated accusations 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.