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(VIDEO) Woman Arrested After Latest Green-Paint Vandalism In Washington

J Scott Applewhite / AP
J Scott Applewhite / AP

WASHINGTON (AP) – A woman was arrested Monday after green paint was found splattered inside two chapels at the Washington National Cathedral.

Police were investigating her in connection with two similar incidents on the National Mall, authorities said.

The woman was arrested in the area of the cathedral shortly after the paint was found, Assistant D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said.

Investigators were hoping to question her about the vandalism on the Mall, including at the Lincoln Memorial, but a language barrier delayed the interrogation, Newsham said.

The woman would likely be charged with destruction of property, Newsham said.

Green paint was found early Friday morning on the Lincoln Memorial, and symbols were found painted in green later Friday on another statue on the Mall. The Lincoln Memorial was closed temporarily but reopened later Friday.

Officials at the cathedral discovered the paint inside two chapels Monday afternoon. It was still wet, which led them to believe the vandalism had just occurred. Officials called police immediately and closed the cathedral to visitors while authorities searched the grounds.

The paint was splashed onto an organ and on the floor inside the cathedral’s historic Bethlehem Chapel on the basement level, officials said. It was also found inside Children’s Chapel in the nave of the cathedral.

Also Monday, U.S. Park Police said green paint was found on the statue of Joseph Henry outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the Mall. Henry was the Smithsonian’s first secretary.

Meanwhile, crews continued working Monday to remove the paint from the Lincoln Memorial. The National Park Service said progressively stronger substances would be used until all the paint is gone, which could take several days. The memorial was scheduled to be power washed Tuesday.

Sgt. Paul Brooks, a U.S. Park Police spokesman, said it was too early to tell whether the same person was responsible for the vandalism at the two Mall landmarks. He noted that while the paint appeared to be splattered indiscriminately on the memorial, the statue appeared to have been deliberately painted. The symbols on the statue were not immediately decipherable.

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