Reflecting Pool Vandals Busted, Now Facing Charges

On Saturday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum spoke out to denounce the vandals who damaged the newly restored Reflecting Pool and who committed other acts of destruction and vandalism in and around the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Secretary Burgum vowed that the perpetrators will face the full force of the law.

As of this writing, the number of arrests in this case is up to seven.

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.

It's hard to fathom the mindset of someone who would lash out in an act of wanton destruction like this, just because of the president who was in office when the property was restored. But this seems to be how many on the left operate these days. This wasn't just hooliganism, either; the vandals did serious damage.

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.
"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."

Worse than that. It's as if they were throwing paint in the faces of every taxpaying citizen.

They Came at Night: Trump Reveals Vandals Sliced 350-Foot Gash Into Reflecting Pool Bottom

This isn't free speech. This isn't a political expression. It is more, even, than just run-of-the-mill vandalism. This is wanton and willful destruction of public property, the property of the taxpaying citizens of the United States of America. This is the destruction of public property, what's more, that has just undergone a major (and badly needed) renovation, in preparation for the celebration of 250 years of American independence, which the nation will observe on Saturday, July 4th. This is an event, and these are properties, that should be the pride of the entire nation, from left to right, Democrats, Republicans, independents, everyone. These monuments to our nation's history, to its greatness, should be beyond politics.

But, clearly, not everyone sees it that way.

Here's the thing: It seems to always be the left that engages in this kind of childish stupidity. It seems the left is always the first to start throwing rocks at cops, to start setting cars on fire, to start burning and looting. It's always the left that starts destroying property. Most of us on the right build; we don't destroy. But the left? The left destroys, not just properties, but institutions.

With any luck, the perpetrators of this latest idiocy will be put on trial and, upon conviction, receive the maximum penalty. Maybe - just maybe - there are some out there on the political left that may be capable of learning something from this example. But I wouldn't bet a plugged nickel on it.

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