A man seen on video being handcuffed by officers and escorted from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was accused of disorderly conduct amid President Donald Trump’s claims that vandals damaged the historic D.C. landmark.
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Christian Miles was detained on Monday, which was captured on video by TMZ DC and shared on X. In the video, two officers escort Miles away from the pool.
“I was yelling at the Oklahoma state troopers,” Miles says. “I was yelling at them.”
When the reporter asked him why he was yelling at the troopers, he responded: “Because they’re here. Oklahoma state troopers.”
Miles declined an interview on Wednesday, but showed NBC News a copy of the U.S. District Court violation notice he said he received. The notice says Miles has been “charged with the following violation” and lists disorderly conduct and using obscene language. The notice also says he will have to appear in court.
Miles told The Guardian that he is a Washington, D.C., resident attempting to “document the creeping police state” in the city and plans on fighting the charges. It’s not clear if he has obtained an attorney.
The U.S. Park Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Trump alleges vandalism
This comes amid the president’s unsupported claims that vandals damaged the pool. Six people have been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism, and seven people have been cited, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. He has not provided any evidence so far of the alleged vandalism.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the Interior Department “will share” photos of the purported vandalism.
The Interior Department and the National Park Service have not responded to repeated requests for comment.
U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn previously told NBC News that he was arrested and detained for five hours on Friday after touching a piece of the detached coating. He said he didn’t “remove, tear, rip, break, or destroy any of it.”
He said the National Guard arrested him, but he was not told what federal law he had violated. It’s not clear what he has been charged with.
His attorney, Norm Eisen, accused the Trump administration of trying to divert attention “from the real questions of how this project was managed, including its corrupt no-bid contracting process.”
“Using the criminal justice system to target innocent people as a form of distraction is textbook authoritarian behavior,” he said in a statement.
Peeling sealant and green algae
The pool underwent renovations this spring ahead of the country’s 250th birthday after Trump said previous presidents had neglected it, leaving it dilapidated and dirty. As part of a $14-million-plus rehabilitation project, a new liner and coating were added in a color Trump has named “American flag blue.”
But recent photos of the pool show that the blue sealant has started to peel away, leaving chunks floating at the surface, while algae growth has turned the water green.
David, 64, from Atlanta, Georgia, said Wednesday that he was visiting the pool because he was curious if “the color looks different.”
“I’m seeing some discoloration, so apparently if the purpose was to paint it all one color, either they did not succeed in that or maybe they’re in the process of doing it,” he said. “But there’s water in there now, so I don’t understand why it’s not the same color.”
Candy, 71, from Florida, was visiting the pool while she was in D.C. for a convention for the historical organization the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“Well, I was curious from everything I’ve, you know, heard on the news and I just wanted to come see,” Candy said. “Firsthand thought, it looks a lot better than I was expecting.”
Candy said that when Trump announced his plan to darken the reflecting pool’s surface, she “didn’t have any thoughts at all on it” until “after it turned out not to be a good idea.”
Visitors sound off
Kate Carr, 29, from Pennsylvania, said the remodeling of the pool was not needed in the first place.
“I think it was an egotistical move on (Trump’s) part because he wanted everything to be America-fied, and it leans into the hyper patriotism that his base rallies behind,” she said as she was visiting the site.
Melissa Galvin, a 29-year-old living in the nation’s capital, said Trump is “able to bully Congress in a way that none of the other, like, leaders have” and that is how he was able to try to alter the pool’s appearance.
Evelyn Pomatto, 15, was visiting the area for a speech and debate tournament through her high school.
“The way it looks right now, I think, is a reflection of kind of the current administration we’re under, because this is definitely not like the worst thing Donald Trump has done, but our country is in a lot of turmoil now that we’re under his leadership,” she said.
Omarlyn Martinez, 29, who is visiting D.C. from the Dominican Republic, said she could see the blue sealant coming off in some areas but the pool looked “fine” to her.
“Well, if it’s going to make it look better, I believe that that’s a really good thing to do because it can improve the experience of the tourists and the people that come and see it,” Martinez said of Trump’s attempt to beautify the reflecting pool, adding that she does not think he has succeeded.
Drain the swamp?
On Saturday, Trump alleged that the damage was caused by vandals cutting a 250-foot-long gash into the pool. In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, he said the damage was made “by a very sharp knife or razors” and “is actually numerous slashes over a very long 350-foot length.”
He said it was “purposefully and criminally done” and alleged that “somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition.”
“Likewise, the small area at the bottom of the Pool was cut and powerfully lifted off the surface, leaving very jagged, uneven edges,” he wrote.
He told reporters on Monday that the pool had been cut “very violently” and claimed that “chemicals” were illegally placed in the water. He threatened a 10-year prison sentence for the alleged destruction.
Trump said that to fix the pool, some of the water would have to be drained either immediately before or after the Fourth of July. Large areas of the grass around the pool will also be replaced, he said.
Fencing was seen being set up around the pool on Tuesday afternoon, which the Interior Department said was always planned as part of July Fourth preparations.
