Trump says security cameras installed at Reflecting Pool, threatens to jail future vandals

President Trump said security cameras have been installed at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and warned possible future vandals they would face jail time.

“This will be different, but any Vandals that try to prove the point otherwise, will GO TO JAIL! We are watching very closely, and security cameras have been installed. Reports are that it’s looking beautiful, and will only get better, subject to NO VANDALISM, with time,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social .

The condition of the pool has been a controversy for a number of months.

The president on numerous occasions boasted about the multimillion-dollar renovation project on the pool as it was occurring, but it was gray and peeling following its completion.

In late August, Trump said improvements to the Reflecting Pool were “ almost completely fixed .”

Trump previously claimed that pieces of “American flag blue” coating and algae blooms spotted in the pool were the result of vandals.

But on Monday, the president suggested a new explanation: The pool has always been in poor condition.

“Interestingly, the Reflecting Pool has not worked properly since it was built in 1922 — It always leaked!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Multiple people, including an Olympic canoeist named David Hearn, were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with damage to the pool.

The DOJ accused Hearn of damaging the pool with his bare hands. However, the charges were dropped , and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the issues the pool faced were the result of renovations gone wrong.

The president went after Pirro for dropping the charges, saying she “choked.” However, he also said that there was “some contractor error” in the renovations.