'This is insane': Adam Kinzinger slams Reflecting Pool vandalism arrests

The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has become a contentious political subject after President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that five people were arrested for vandalism and five more are under investigation. As Trump failed to provide proof, critics argue that it is the failure of his $14 million renovation project that resulted in the issues. Former Republican Congressman, Adam Kinzinger, alleged that authorities were arresting innocent people to cover up the failure, as the President can't admit it. 

On Monday afternoon, Trump told reporters that it wasn't a 250-foot gash as previously claimed but a "350-foot slit" from one end to the other. "I saw it. They cut it. They cut it very violently," he said, after reports of him inspecting the pool over the weekend through a fly-by on Marine One. Separately, in a post on Truth Social, the President said that "chemicals have been illegally placed in the water to propagate the algae, and for anyone found guilty of vandalism, there is a 10-year prison sentence," which will be "fully enforced!" Trump further told reporters that five people have been arrested so far, and when asked for the photos of the alleged gash, Trump said, "You'll see it in court, but all you have to do is call the parks department, call the Department of Interior."

Reacting to the lack of evidence, Kinzinger claimed the allegations were a cover-up of the President's massive failure. "Donald is so desperate to never admit failure, even on something as small as the reflective pool, that they've started ARRESTING innocent people," Kinzinger wrote in a video post on X. "This is insane". 

In his post, Kinzinger called the arrests disgusting and urged the National Guard officers to comply with the law. "You need to understand that you will likely be held accountable for that someday," he warned. Among those arrested was former U.S. Olympic canoeist David "Davey" Hearn, who told the publication that he was detained for five hours on Friday after touching a piece of detached coating at the Reflecting Pool. He further told the Washington Post that he had not destroyed any part of the coating, and he jumped into the water out of curiosity while on a bike ride. "I didn't vandalize anything," Hearn said. "I didn't destroy, break, or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs." Videos of him being handcuffed for allegedly grabbing a hose of a worker clearing the algae went viral on social media over the weekend. 

Hearn told the Post that he didn't grab the hose, but his bike tire might have touched it. Bronin, the GWU law professor and a former chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, further told the publication that law enforcement can't arrest people just for touching the water.  He explained that the pool is part of the public infrastructure of the National Mall, and the idea that people can't even engage with it is "bizarre". “It is a distortion of what the National Mall represents. It's there to be engaged, felt, and experienced," he added. 

On the other hand, speaking to Fox News on Sunday, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that "anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the Reflecting Pool will face the criminal justice system in D.C." She added that several citations had been issued to individuals and they will be prosecuted to the full extent. "If there are more serious products that are put into the Reflecting Pool to create more algae or a bigger problem, then we’ll consider more serious charges," Pirro said.