The Trump administration has put up fencing around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/a>, where the White House has struggled to manage algae blooms and a cracking seal on one of its signature Washington renovation projects.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, TMZ captured video of workers putting up a chain-link fence around sections of the landmark, which the administration has spent more than $16 million renovating<\/a> since April. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Reflecting Pool<\/a> was always set to be fenced off ahead of the 4th of July,\u201d the Department of the Interior told The Independent in a statement. \u201cAs in years prior, one of the launch pads for the fireworks is around the pool so fencing is put up to ensure public safety. With the increase in vandalism by leftist activists, the fencing is going up earlier than originally planned to ensure no more damage is done to this historic site.\u201d<\/p>\n An increased law enforcement presence now surrounds the pool, <\/a>made up of Park Police, National Guard troops and U.S. Marshals.<\/p>\n The White House claims vandals have sabotaged the project <\/a>by dumping fertilizer into the pool and cutting what President Donald Trump said was a 350-foot gash into its newly refinished underwater surface. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,\u201d the president wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. \u201cLikewise, the small area at the bottom of the Pool was cut and powerfully lifted off the surface leaving very jagged, uneven edges.\u201d<\/p>\n Six people have been arrested for damaging the pool, and seven have been cited, according to the president. The administration has yet to publicly present proof of a coordinated effort to damage the pool.<\/p>\n Trump has also suggested the pool has been a target of paid \u201cpro-algae\u201d protesters.<\/p>\n One of those arrested claims he was wrongly accused.<\/p>\n Former Olympian canoe slalom athlete David Hearn says he touched a \u201cloose flap of coating\u201d because he was \u201ccurious as a concerned citizen\u201d then was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a completely unfounded accusation,\u201d Hearn told The Daily Mail<\/a>. \u201cWe’ve already heard many lies from this administration\u2026That’s just another lie.\u201d<\/p>\n Hearn has vowed to fight the charges.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no crime,\u201d his lawyer, Norm Eisen, told MS Now on Monday. \u201cThere\u2019s certainly no wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a Reflecting Pool where people have \u2014 for decades \u2014 touched the water,\u201d he added. \u201cHow can it be a crime to touch the water of the Reflecting Pool?\u201d<\/p>\n Parks workers were aware of problems with the Reflecting Pool throughout early June, even as the president insisted the project had been a success after the pool had been drained, resurfaced, then refilled.<\/p>\n They found cuts in sections of foam within the pool\u2019s expansion joints, rather than its newly resealed coating, and noted a bubbling system meant to deter algae was not operating at full capacity, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.<\/p>\n The overall renovation will likely not be complete by July 4<\/a>, despite the administration\u2019s goal of fixing up Washington monuments in time for America\u2019s 250th anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will not be before the celebrations, that’s for sure,\u201d Francois Rivard, vice president of Rhino Linings, which supplied the spray-on lining used to refinish the pool, told POLITICO<\/a>. \u201cIt would be up to [the National Park Service] to tell you exactly when they plan \u2026 but it’s in a matter of weeks, not years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAtlantic Industrial Coatings in conjunction with the US Park Service has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs,\u201d Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the Virginia-based contractor overseeing the renovation, wrote in a statement on Sunday on its website. \u201cThese areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2282459218...jpeg\")
The Trump administration has installed fencing and increased security around the issued-plagued Reflecting Pool renovation project (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2282235731.jpeg\")
The president has blamed vandals for cracks and algae blooms in the newly renovated Reflecting Pool (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Lincoln_Memorial_Reflecting_Pool_71313.jpg\")
The Reflecting Pool likely will not be fully renovated in time for July 4th celebrations (AP)<\/p>\n![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2282293847...jpeg\")
At least six people have been arrested in connection with tampering with the pool, according to the president, though at least one argues he was wrongly charged (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n