Interior Secretary Doug Burgum vowed "full" prosecution Saturday for vandals who allegedly slashed a 350-foot long gash into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and defaced the area with a slew of anti-Trump graffiti."When people are attacking it [the Reflecting Pool], it is like an attack on our country," Burgum said."These are our most sacred monuments, and they [the perpetrators] are gonna be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."Burgum discussed the damage and the Trump administration's response to it during a "Fox & Friends Weekend" appearance, revealing that authorities have made seven arrests, issued multiple citations and filed 18 police reports in connection with the vandalism.WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS 'TARGETED SABOTAGE' OF REFLECTING POOL AS REPAIRS PUSHED PAST JULY 4 CELEBRATIONInterior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks alongside Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez (out of frame), after their meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on March 4, 2026.
(Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images)According to Burgum, the damage extended roughly 350 feet along the pool's industrial rubber liner, which he said investigators believe was cut with a box cutter.Images show some of the anti-Trump markings the vandals left behind, including "8647," interpreted by many as a call to violence or a call to remove the president.OBAMA JUDGE CLEARS LEFT-WING GROUP TO FLY OMINOUS FLAG AIMED AT TRUMP ON HIS OWN TURFFlags are seen on the National Mall with the U.S.Capitol behind them.
(AP) "The Reflecting Pool [is] part of the 1922 Lincoln Memorial," Burgum said."When people are using box cutters to do vandalism on this thing, it's the same as if they were throwing paint on Lincoln's statue in the eyes of the law."President Donald Trump addressed the vandalism on Friday, saying the newly restored Reflecting Pool had been deliberately targeted."They ripped a scar 350-feet-long through the side of the Reflecting Pool," Trump said."These are the people we...