Vandals struck the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, dumping bubble soap into a fountain and scrawling red graffiti across the landmark.
The attack targeted the Atlantic Theater pavilion, where frothy bubbles piled several feet high from a fountain commemorating the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. The red-painted message read “Clean Hands Dirty $,” though the connection between that slogan and a memorial honoring a conflict that ended 81 years ago remained unclear.
Interior Department spokesman Cody Sargent condemned the incident in blunt terms on X. “It’s disgusting vandalism from deranged losers,” he wrote. “It’s pathetic to deface a memorial to our WWII heroes.”
Sargent added that he had confidence in the response. “Thankfully, I know our incredible [National Park Service] will get this cleaned up for the majority of Americans who love our country,” he continued on the platform.
The National Park Service manages the memorial and handles cleanup operations for vandalism incidents on the National Mall. The agency has not yet issued a public statement on Thursday’s damage or provided a timeline for restoration.
The bubble soap attack followed another recent act of vandalism targeting a nearby landmark. The new swimming pool liner coating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was also defaced, according to reports. That incident and the WWII Memorial attack add to a string of deliberate damage to prominent Washington sites.
In June, vandals used chemicals to burn “86 47” into the Washington Monument’s lawn, a message widely interpreted as a jab at President Trump. The digits reference a slang term for removing someone combined with Trump’s position as the 47th president.
Law enforcement has not announced arrests in Thursday’s WWII Memorial vandalism. The method — household bubble soap and paint — suggests a low-tech, opportunistic attack rather than an organized operation. The memorial, dedicated in 2004, honors the 16 million Americans who served in World War II and the more than 400,000 who died.
In the viral moment that drew Sargent’s public condemnation, the combination of suds and political messaging transformed a solemn site into a spectacle. The Atlantic Theater fountain, which marks the European and North African campaigns, became an unlikely stage for foam and cryptic graffiti. Visitors arriving at the memorial on Thursday encountered a scene more reminiscent of a prank than a political statement, with the meaning of “Clean Hands Dirty $” left unexplained by its authors.