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WASHINGTON — <\/span>President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the iconic Washington, D.C. site increasingly becomes a flashpoint over the president\u2019s $14-million-plus rehabilitation project<\/a> gone awry.<\/p>\n In a social media post, Trump claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a \u201c350 foot gash\u201d in the paint as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix the botched renovation<\/a> before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration next week. <\/p>\n Trump said another seven people were cited for damaging the pool. \u201cIt was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n The Park Police and Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s assertion. <\/p>\n The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested<\/a> after touching the already-peeling paint as federal workers try to deal with an algae bloom in the water<\/a>. The liner was installed as part of the project to repair the century-old pool, which included a new layer to its bottom in a color Trump has dubbed \u201cAmerican flag blue.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said that \u201csome of the water\u201d will be drained from the pool \u201ceither immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.\u201d<\/p>\n It was unclear from his post what the scale, scope or cost of the permanent repair would be.<\/p>\n National Guard members and U.S. Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the pool after Trump insisted vandals were responsible for damage to the liner.<\/p>\n Trump pitched the original improvements as intended to clean, beautify and reinforce an iconic site that he said had become dilapidated and dirty because of previous presidents\u2019 neglect. Algae has plagued the pool for a century, and Trump insisted that the newly installed \u201cAmerican flag blue\u201d coating, which he selected himself, would turn the pool into a gleaming expanse along the National Mall.<\/p>\n Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool\u2019s coating. A piece of liner, about 4 square feet, was observed Friday partially floating in the pool. The Associated Press saw additional pieces in the water Monday. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n