A man was arrested by the U.S. Park Police Tuesday night after allegedly defacing the Washington Monument, police officials confirmed.
The man used red paint to vandalize the base of the monument and the landmark is temporarily closed, officials said. Conservators with the National Park Service will work on restoration, U.S. Park Police tweeted.
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Alert: Area around base of the Washington Monument temporarily closed. USPP have adult male in custody for vandalism. NPS conservators will work on restoration process.
— USPPNEWS (@usparkpolicepio) September 21, 2022
The clean-up process will begin Wednesday morning, the National Park Service confirmed in a tweet. But the process would need to happen quickly because the marble on the monument’s base is porous, National Mall spokesman Mike Litterst told ABC-7.
“It is likely to take a number of treatments over the next two or three weeks until the paint is completely removed,” Litterst told the outlet.
Nightly monument report. Someone has painted the the side with red paint. There is an individual in cuffs off to the side and police have blocked the area out to the grass. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/s9HD84kPS0
— Katie Barlow (@katieleebarlow) September 20, 2022
The incident is similar to one that occurred in 2013 at the Lincoln Memorial when someone used green paint to deface the memorial. Protesters also defaced the Lincoln Memorial during the George Floyd riots in 2020, writing phrases such as “Y’all not tired yet?” in front of the memorial.
In the wake of last night’s demonstrations, there are numerous instances of vandalism to sites around the National Mall. For generations the Mall has been our nation’s premier civic gathering space for non-violent demonstrations, and we ask individuals to carry on that tradition. pic.twitter.com/LmIHfW2AHj
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) May 31, 2020
“In the wake of last night’s demonstrations, there are numerous instances of vandalism to sites around the National Mall,” the National Mall park service tweeted at the time. “For generations the Mall has been our nation’s premier civic gathering space for non-violent demonstrations, and we ask individuals to carry on that tradition.”
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The U.S. Park Police is still processing Tuesday’s arrest and is not ready to speak on charges the man might face, Sgt. Thomas Twiname told the outlet.
