A Washington, D.C., man arrested near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool said he plans to contest a federal obscenity charge after being arrested near the recently renovated landmark that President Donald Trump says has been damaged by vandals.
Christian Miles, a freelance video editor and former Navy submariner, was arrested Monday by U.S. Park Police near the Reflecting Pool after an encounter with Oklahoma state troopers, who are helping local law enforcement for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
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Miles was charged under a federal regulation prohibiting obscene or threatening behavior that could provoke a disturbance. Miles denied wrongdoing and said he intends to contest the charge, according to multiple reports.
Miles’s interaction with law enforcement was captured by a TMZ DC reporter and shows two officers escorting Miles away from the Reflecting Pool.
“I was yelling at the Oklahoma state troopers,” Miles said was the reason for his arrest. “I was yelling at them.”
Miles said he was yelling at the Oklahoma troopers “because they’re here.”
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Miles can be seen asking the troopers questions about their presence. Miles tells the troopers to “get the f*** out of my city” and to “go back to Tulsa, b****” before he was arrested.
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The arrest came amid an increased law enforcement presence around the Reflecting Pool, where officers from multiple agencies have been stationed in recent days.
The heightened security follows Trump’s repeated claims that vandals are responsible for a series of problems that have plagued the $14 million renovation project, including peeling liner material, algae blooms, a dead duckling, and what Trump has described as a large gash in the pool’s newly installed surface. Trump said Tuesday that six people had been arrested in connection with damage to the Reflecting Pool, though officials have released few details about the cases.
