NPS crews clean graffiti from DC monuments, memorials after vandalized by protesters
WASHINGTON - National Park Service crews were hard at work Monday morning cleaning graffiti from monuments and memorials around the D.C. region after many were vandalized by protesters over the weekend.
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Violent demonstrations broke out in the nation's capital and in cities across the county in response to the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man in Minneapolis who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed his knee to his neck.
RELATED: Protesters deface World War II Memorial and other National Mall monuments
FOX 5's Bob Barnard visited the World War II Memorial in downtown D.C. which was sprayed painted with the words, “Do Black Vets Count?” NPS tweeted a photo showing graffiti at several monuments including a part of the Lincoln Memorial which was spray painted with the words, “Yall Not Tired Yet?”
Mike Litterst, spokesperson for the National Park Service, said monument preservation crews quickly responded to the graffiti, removing most of it Sunday afternoon. He said little remained Monday and a second pass will likely happen before the day was through.
Litterst said typically the NPS responds to two or three incidents of vandalism each year and said crews are taking inventory of the damage.