The steps leading to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., were reportedly vandalized with graffiti calling for Gaza to be free.
Officials from the National Park Service (NPS) were reported to be working to clean the steps after U.S. Park Police discovered red paint splattered and the words “Free Gaza” written in about five or six different places, according to Fox5DC.
“National Park Service conservators have begun the process of removing the paint this morning, though it may take multiple treatments over several days to remove all of it,” Mike Litterst, chief of communications and spokesman for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, told IJR in a statement.
Lincoln Memorial steps vandalized with ‘Free Gaza’ graffiti, red painthttps://t.co/d2Rptg6TZD
— Jim Lokay (@Lokay) December 20, 2023
“The steps on the west side of the Reflecting Pool are closed to visitors while the conservation work takes place,” Litterst added.
The red graffiti paint was reported to be on the steps leading up from the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial Circle.
This is not the first time the Lincoln Memorial has been vandalized. In June 2020, the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial, along with several others, were vandalized as people protested the death of George Floyd.
In the aftermath of an Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left more than 1,400 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, Israel declared war on Hamas. While Hamas and Israel agreed upon a week-long truce, resulting in the release of more than 100 hostages, the two groups have continued to fight.
Since the fighting began, protests in support of freeing Gaza have erupted in cities across the nation such as Washington, D.C., and New York City. Student organizations at universities such as Harvard University, George Washington University, and the University of California Berkeley issued letters and took part in protests condemning Israel for the violence that has unfolded.