U.S. Park Police are asking the public for help identifying an individual shown in a social media video that they say depicts vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The agency posted the footage on Wednesday. The short clip, recorded from a distance, appears to show a person reaching into the Reflecting Pool and pulling something from the water. The video is somewhat blurry, and authorities have not released further identifying details.
Park Police say the incident reportedly occurred at 3:36 p.m. ET on Friday, June 19. Officials urged anyone with information about the person's identity to contact the Park Police tip line.
Oversight Inquiry and Official Response
Separately, a top House Oversight Democrat has asked contractors involved in the pool's recent renovation for records and details about the project and its oversight. The requests aim to clarify what happened during and after the $16 million renovation.
White House officials, including President Donald Trump, have publicly blamed vandals for alleged damage to the pool following the renovation. The White House has not provided publicly verifiable evidence to support those claims.
"The Reflecting Pool that you've heard so much about, which is so incredible, it's been gruesomely vandalized by thugs, bad people, but soon will be looking as beautiful as it looked just two weeks ago," President Trump said while speaking on the National Mall. "The vandals got to it, they've largely been caught and are being prosecuted. We can't let that happen to our country."
Officials at the Interior Department and the U.S. Park Police confirmed earlier this week that there have been several arrests and federal citations related to alleged vandalism at the site. President Trump has said six people were arrested. He also said the Reflecting Pool will be drained again around the Fourth of July for what he described as "permanent repair."
Park Police continue to seek tips from anyone who can identify the individual captured in the video.
