Letters Carved Into Lincoln Memorial By Overseas Visitor: U.S. Park Police

WASHINGTON, DC — A man from Kyrgyzstan was arrested for carving letters into the Lincoln Memorial with a penny Monday, according to reports. (Subscribe to the D.C. Patch for realtime breaking news alerts.)

Nurtilek Bakirov, 21, was arrested and charged with Defacing Private/Public Property and Destruction of Property Greater than $1,000, ABC7 says.

At about 1:09 p.m. Monday, a U.S. Park Police officer saw Bakirov allegedly using a penny to scratch letters on a pillar of the memorial. Police said they found the letters "HYPT" and "MEAK" carved into the pillar.

When confronted by the officer, Bakirov allegedly said he "didn't know that you can't do that" and asked the officer if he was in trouble.

The Lincoln Memorial was vandalized with a spray painted obscenity in large red letters on a pillar about a month ago. The graffiti appeared to "F--- Law."

Back in February, someone defaced three D.C. national monuments — the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and World War II Memorial — with permanent marker, scrawling bizarre messages referencing the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Like us on Facebook for more crime news:

Pixabay Photo