National Parks Service workers are cleaning up after an act of vandalism at the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., after the North Dakota portion of the monument was spray-painted sometime before mid-morning Monday.
According to a statement issued by the park service Tuesday, the vandalism happened sometime before 10 a.m. Monday, but the release offers few other details on the matter, other than the park service's efforts to remove the graffiti with "light paint stripper."
"Applications will continue until the marking is no longer detectable," the release states.
In a photo provided by the park service, the content of the graffiti itself is difficult to make out now that removal measures have been applied. However, an earlier photo circulating on social media appears to indicate that it read "#NoDAPL," a symbol of the anti-Dakota Access Pipeline movement to which protesters have rallied in recent weeks in south central North Dakota.
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The graffiti comes on the heels of vandalism at the North Dakota state capitol Oct. 31, in which motor oil was poured on the exterior and sidewalk of the building-another apparent pipeline protest in which vandals left a sign that said "you can't drink oil."
The monument itself is located on the National Mall, standing opposite the Lincoln Memorial on the other end mall's iconic reflecting pool and within several hundred feet of the Washington Monument. The memorial has a granite column for each U.S. state and territory at the time World War II was waged.
In its release, the park service asked anyone with knowledge of the incident to call (202) 610-7500.
