--- description: Red graffiti, which appears to contain an expletive, was found on a column in the Lincoln Memorial early Tuesday morning title: Someone Vandalized the Lincoln Memorial With Red Graffiti image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd988e35f05594df3/6988d9e1bc6cfcaf0e3e2a62/lincoln-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Washington D.C.](/tag/washington-d-c/) ## Washington D.C. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Someone Vandalized the Lincoln Memorial With Red Graffiti by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:42 AM CUTPublished: Aug 15, 2017 10:19 PM CUT  Graffiti is seen on a pillar at the Lincoln Memorial in the early morning hours on August 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Graffiti is seen on a pillar at the Lincoln Memorial in the early morning hours on August 15, 2017 in Washington, DC.National Park Service/Getty by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:42 AM CUTPublished: Aug 15, 2017 10:19 PM CUT Authorities found red graffiti, which appears to contain an expletive, on a column in the Lincoln Memorial early Tuesday morning. The graffiti was hard to make out, the Nation Park Service said, but seemed to say “f— law,” [according to the _Washington_ Post.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2017/08/15/the-lincoln-memorial-was-vandalized-with-red-spray-paint/?utm%5Fterm=.6974065645fc "undefined") There was more vandalism found on a sign for the [Smithsonian](http://time.com/4800572/african-american-history-museum-noose-washington-dc/ "undefined") in silver spray paint, which could not be read. The National Park Service explained that the paint would be removed with a paint stripper “safe for use on historic stone” the _Post_ reported. “The removal has begun, but it’s a lengthy \[process\] that will require numerous treatments over a week or two to completely remove,” the National Park Service told the _Post_ in an email. This is not the first time [monuments in the area have been hit with graffiti](http://time.com/4569129/racist-anti-semitic-incidents-donald-trump/ "undefined"). The Washington Monument and the World War II, Lincoln and D.C. War memorials were also vandalized, according to the _Post._ The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact the U.S. Park Police at 202-610-7515. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4902304/lincoln-memorial-red-grafitti-vandalism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4902304/lincoln-memorial-red-grafitti-vandalism/"},"headline":"Someone Vandalized the Lincoln Memorial With Red Graffiti","datePublished":"2017-08-15T22:19:12.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T04:42:20.000Z","description":"The graffiti was found early Tuesday morning","url":"https://time.com/4902304/lincoln-memorial-red-grafitti-vandalism/","keywords":["Washington D.C.","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd988e35f05594df3/6988d9e1bc6cfcaf0e3e2a62/lincoln-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd988e35f05594df3/6988d9e1bc6cfcaf0e3e2a62/lincoln-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lincoln Memorial Vandalized with Graffiti","caption":"Lincoln Memorial Vandalized with Graffiti","creditText":"National Park Service/Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/washington-d-c/","name":"Washington D.C."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4902304/lincoln-memorial-red-grafitti-vandalism/","name":"Someone Vandalized the Lincoln Memorial With Red Graffiti"}}]}] ```