Washington DC pool guarded after vandalism claims | JQJO

WASHINGTON — The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., has been placed under heavy security following a failed multimillion-dollar rehabilitation project and subsequent claims of vandalism. As of Saturday, June 27, National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police have surrounded the landmark, erecting chain-link fences and posting warning signs to keep the public away from the site. The tightened security follows a rushed effort by the Department of the Interior to refurbish the pool ahead of the July 4 celebrations, using an emergency process to award a no-bid contract worth more than $16 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings.

Under the contract, workers installed a custom "American flag blue" polyurea lining intended to give the iconic pool a fresh look in time for the nation’s 250th birthday. Soon after the pool was refilled, however, large sections of the new coating began peeling off the concrete and floating to the surface, while severe algae blooms turned the water a bright green and several dead ducks were recovered from the pool. President Donald Trump has used posts on Truth Social to claim that vandals slashed the liner and dumped chemicals into the water, leaving a damaged national monument, a highly visible security presence, and an increasingly heated dispute over what caused the failure.