The Washington Monument has been restored and is back open following a vandalizing incident, where a man defaced its base surface with red latex paint.
The area surrounding the monument was temporarily closed to the public after the incident that occurred on Tuesday.
The United States Park Police arrested a 44-year-old man, identified as Shaun Ray Deaton of Bloomington, Indiana, around 7:30 pm on the same day in connection with the vandalism.
The graffiti allegedly painted by Deaton read “Have you been f**ked by this” and “Gov says tough sh*t.”
At first light, our Monument Preservation crew got to work on the Washington Monument, after it was defaced with red paint last night. The top layer of paint is coming off and the pigment that seeped into the stone will be treated with many rounds of cleaning product application. pic.twitter.com/ifFHoTTuif
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) September 21, 2022
Deaton has been charged with trespassing, tampering, and vandalism, according to the US Park Police.
Chemicals, paint removers, and power washing were reportedly used to remove the red paint from the monument, but it requires more work.
“The top layer of paint is coming off and the pigment that seeped into the stone will be treated with many rounds of cleaning product application,” said the National Park Service in a tweet.