Fact Check: Did FBI summon Jasmine Crockett for her alleged role in Reflecting Pool vandalism?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following President Donald Trump’s repeated allegations of vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool amid its multimillion-dollar renovation project, a claim began circulating online that the FBI has summoned Rep Jasmine Crockett for her alleged role in the pool’s damage, sparking speculation. Let us fact-check the claim.
Claim: FBI summoned Jasmine Crockett over Reflecting Pool damage
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Texas Congresswoman was called by the FBI for questioning after being caught on a secret list of Democrats and RINOs bankrolling the attacks on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The post claims that the list was handed over by National Parks Police after "one of the vandals arrested at the Reflecting Pool made a deal and started naming names."
The post has garnered criticism against the congresswoman, with netizens calling for her prosecution, while a few others questioned the claim’s authenticity.
Fact Check: The claim originated as a satire
The claim, however, is false as there is no such report from the agency about summoning the Democratic politician.
A search on Google for the keywords, "Jasmine Crockett summoned by FBI," "Jasmine Crockett funded Antifa vandals," and "Jasmine Crockett Reflecting Pool," yielded no credible reports by prominent media outlets, which will not go unreported if true.
The search also revealed that the claim originated from a Facebook parody account called America’s Last Line of Defense, whose bio states, "Nothing on this page is real."
A fact check by Grok states, “The claim is false. No credible news outlets report that Rep. Jasmine Crockett has been summoned or voluntarily questioned by the FBI in Austin (or anywhere) regarding funding Antifa or vandalism/chemical damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool."
"The story originates from a fringe fan account and a related satirical post, with no supporting evidence from law enforcement, mainstream reporting, or official statements.”
Donald Trump details alleged vandalism of Reflecting Pool
Recently, Trump said authorities have arrested people accused of vandalizing the newly renovated site, claiming they used a box cutter or another sharp object to damage the pool's protective coating and dumped fertilizer into the water.
"We caught some people vandalizing our beautiful reflecting pool," he said. "We have the reflecting pool. They took a cutter, a box cutter, or something, very sharp."
"They threw a little fertilizer in the water, which is not good. Fertilizer doesn't go well with water. Clear, beautiful water. But they caught them. They actually caught them, and those guys have some problems ahead of them, but they did some damage," he added.
