WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A man was taken into custody on Tuesday night after the Washington Monument was vandalized, authorities said, adding that the area around the monument erected in the U.S. capital in memory of George Washington was temporarily inaccessible.
“The area around the Washington Monument is temporarily inaccessible. The USPP has placed a man in custody for vandalism. The services of the (National Park Service) will take care of the restoration work,” said the United States Parks Police. (USPP) in a statement.
Images posted on Twitter by local media show the base of the monument smeared with red paint.
The Washington Monument, a 169-meter tall obelisk-shaped tower located not far from the Capitol, is a popular tourist attraction in the US capital.
(Report Kanishka Singh; French version Camille Raynaud)