Sam Amico
A man who vandalized the Washington Monument may be seeing red. And not just because that’s the color of the paint he allegedly used.
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Instead, it may be because he was arrested for the act.
Police say 44-year-old Shaun Ray Deato painted the outside base of the 555-foot-tall monument at Washington’s National Mall. Whether this man did it or not, someone certainly did. Pictures from the National Mall NPS revealed as much.
“At first light, our Monument Preservation crew got to work on the Washington Monument, after it was defaced with red paint last night,” an NPS tweet read. “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.”
Washington Monument Vandalized
The area around the paint was temporarily closed, though it seems like once things are cleaned up, you’ll never even notice that someone painted the monument red.
“A week of sunlight will also help return the monument to its usual impressive state. Thanks to our expert team for their hard work,” the NPS added.
Deaton was charged with tampersing, vandalism and trespasing. “This is an initial criminal charge and, as the investigation continues, there may be additional charges,” the United States Park Police stated. Police stated there may be additional charges against the suspect. It is still unclear what his motivation for the vandalism is or if the message that was written was targeting somebody specific.
The iconic 555-foot monuments located on the National Mall honors George Washington. It was first completed in 1884 and was the tallest structure in the world from 1884 to 1889. It was quickly overtaken by the Eiffel Tower located in Paris. The fan-favorite monuments attracts over 600,000 visitors a year.
