Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration
Additional Charges Filed Against Three Individuals Following Reflecting Pool Alterations
Three more people charged with damaging – Legal proceedings have advanced as three more individuals face criminal accusations related to property damage at the historic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. According to official court filings, law enforcement officers apprehended Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby, and Justin Carreno during a Saturday afternoon in June. The incident involved the trio allegedly peeling and extracting sections of blue paint from the iconic water feature.
Court documents reveal that one officer directly observed Carreno reaching into the reflecting pool and retrieving a fragment of the blue coating. Meanwhile, the officer who detained Dennison-Gibby discovered an extra piece of the pool’s liner concealed within her handbag. All three separate encounters were captured on body-worn cameras worn by the responding officers, providing visual documentation of the events.
Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Response
The apprehension involved a collaborative effort among several partnering law enforcement agencies stationed at the Reflecting Pool, working alongside the US Park Police. Officers hailing from Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, and California participated in detaining the two men and one woman. In court statements, one officer noted that Thiers acknowledged removing a piece of blue sealant from the pool and continued holding it when the officer approached him.
The three defendants appeared before a judge on Wednesday for their arraignment proceedings. They entered not guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of destruction of property, with the alleged damage valued at less than $1,000. The presiding judge issued an order requiring all three individuals to maintain distance from the Reflecting Pool area.
Legal representatives for Thiers and Dennison-Gibby chose not to provide public commentary on the charges. CNN has contacted Carreno’s attorney for potential response. Should the defendants be found guilty of the destruction of property charges, they face financial penalties reaching $1,000 and could serve up to 180 days in jail.
Broader Context of Pool Damage Allegations
The New York Times initially reported that three additional individuals had been formally charged with damaging the Reflecting Pool. This development adds to ongoing controversy surrounding the water feature, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted suffered significant vandalism. Trump has claimed that vandals caused major harm to the pool’s lining following his administration’s expenditure of more than $14 million on renovation work. However, the president has not presented concrete evidence to substantiate these assertions.
Importantly, the officers who filed charges against Carreno, Thiers, and Dennison-Gibby did not accuse them of gashing the pool’s lining. This distinction separates their alleged actions from the more severe damage claims made by the administration.
Separately, former Olympic canoeist David Hearn received an indictment from a Washington, DC grand jury last week for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool. Unlike the three recently charged individuals, Hearn faces destruction of property charges involving damage valued at more than $1,000, which carries a potential maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment if convicted. He entered a not guilty plea in DC Superior Court on Thursday regarding the pool damage allegations.
Repair Efforts Continue
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that maintenance crews began draining the Reflecting Pool over the weekend to conduct necessary repairs. This marks the second time in three months that the pool has been emptied for restoration work. The drainage operation follows weeks of complications affecting the landmark, including algae blooms, green-tinted water, a chipping bottom surface, and the administration’s ongoing allegations of vandalism.
These accumulated problems have transformed the once-pristine Reflecting Pool into a subject of national attention and debate. The combination of maintenance challenges and political controversy has kept the iconic Washington landmark in the public eye, with stakeholders monitoring both the physical condition of the pool and the legal proceedings against those accused of damaging it.
This report has been updated with additional information regarding the charges and repair timeline.