Lincoln Memorial Vandalized
At some point during the night, the Lincoln Memorial was vandalized:
The Lincoln Memorial was shut down Friday morning after vandals splashed light green paint on the statue of the nation’s 16th president and the marble floor around it, U.S. Park Police said.
No words or symbols were painted or written on the memorial, police said. No damage was reported at the Mall’s other memorials and monuments.
Police are reviewing surveillance footage from the popular tourist attraction on the west end of the Mall, but so far no information has been released about who may have been responsible for the vandalism or what may have motivated it.
Carol Bradley Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Mall and Memorial Parks division of the National Park Service, called the incident “heartbreaking.”
Authorities believe the paint was splattered about 1:30 a.m. onto the left leg and base of the 19-foot-high statue of Lincoln, who is depicted sitting in a throne-like chair, gazing toward the Washington Monument and, further east, the Capitol. The chair also was spattered.
Once the vandalism was discovered, U.S. Park Police used yellow police tape to close the memorial to tourists until it could be cleaned up.
A crew was removing the paint from the memorial using a pressure-washer, the National Park Service said at a news conference, and there did not appear to be any permanent damage. The park service reponed the portico steps leading up the chamber, where the statue is located, at 10:13 a.m.
Pretty pathetic. Hopefully, they’ll catch whichever idiots are responsible for this. Thankfully, at least, there doesn’t appear to be permanent damage.
While whoever did this should face severe punishment, I’m not sure in what sense it’s “heartbreaking.” A famous statue is going to be off limits to tourists for a couple hours while the clean-up crew works.
Every few years, Lincoln’s Tomb is vandalized, either with neo-confederate slogans, broken ornaments, or stolen pieces of statues. Some people are idiots, cannot get over the past or both.
…slow news cycle infects OTB….coming up: It’s time for a conversation on race….GITMO still open…hey, isn’t there a hurrican somewher- SQUIRREL!
If they catch the vandals, they could go with the approach former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman suggested for taggers and cut off one of their thumbs on TV.
@James Joyner: I wondered about that too. The memorial was spayed with paint. I assume it can be cleaned in less than a day and no permanent damage was done. This is obviously vandalism, but calling it hearbreaking is over the top.
@James Joyner:
Severe? Why? Not saying that they shouldn’t be fined, but severe punishment? What kind of punishment would you suggest?
@MstrB:
So, you’re for some sharia laws then?
If you don’t see marble with lime-green trim as tragic then you may not have a future in decorating.
@PJ: I’m not suggesting the death penalty, merely the upper end of whatever the statutes provide for vandalizing public property without leaving permanent damage. It’s a national treasure and thousands of people flock to see it every day.
Damaging federal property is up to ten years imprisonment.
@James Joyner:
Never suggested that, but you did use the word severe, and I can’t see a fine as being severe. Also, as PD Shaw pointed out, the punishment could be imprisonment up to ten years (depending on the cost of the damage).
I’d say a night in jail spent with a sheriff who likes to keep prisoners up at night with his constant moralizing.
Like an insomniac, proselytizing Andy Griffith figure.
These people exist, and they are annoying. We should harness that annoyance for society’s good.
@Tillman: I really liked Andy Griffith, but the most appropriate sheriff would be Max Baer Jr. in the drive in classic, “Macon County Line”
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