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WASHINGTON — The World War II Memorial on the National Mall was vandalized Thursday, and a fountain was found overflowing with bubbles, the latest incident in which prominent monuments have been targeted in the nation’s capital.
U.S. Park Police were on site and blocked off the area.
“Clean hands, dirty money,” letters in bright pink spray paint said.
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Vandalism at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., left parts of the historic monument covered in a white substance, prompting concern over damage to the national landmark. (Brooke Curto/Fox News Digital)
President Donald Trump declared in a Friday Truth Social post, “Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals. THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II. First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???”
“The vandalism that occurred is an utter disgrace and will not be tolerated,” a Department of the Interior spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“Our U.S. Park Police are on the scene, and the investigation is ongoing. The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act.”
The agency noted that the memorial honors the armed forces and the more than 400,000 Americans who died fighting in World War II.
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Vandals poured bubble soap and painted graffiti on the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., Thursday. (© Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire)
An Army veteran who arrived at the memorial told Fox News Digital she was looking forward to seeing it and was “offended” by the act of vandalism.
“It just makes me absolutely irate,” Debra Mortensen said. “I was offended because people fought and died for our country, and it’s dishonoring our country and all we’ve been through.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Park Police and the National Park Service. No information about a potential suspect was released.
In 2016, the memorial was vandalized by someone protesting the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. A vandal spray-painted the North Dakota section of the memorial with the phrase “#NoDAPL.”
Police respond to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., after an apparent act of vandalism at the national landmark. (Brooke Curto/Fox News Digital)
The memorial was closed for several months earlier this year for a $4 million renovation project upgrading the fountains and lighting, FOX DC reported. It reopened in May.
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In addition to the war memorial, other monuments on the National Mall have been targeted recently.
In June, separate red markings of “8647,” a political slogan and protest symbol used against President Donald Trump, were found on the Washington Monument, and damage was reported at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
