Prosecutors: Woman Had Soda Can With Green Paint

WASHINGTON (AP) —

A woman charged with defacing the Washington National Cathedral was carrying a soda can containing green paint when she was arrested, and she has been linked to at least four other incidents of vandalism, including at the Lincoln Memorial, according to prosecutors and court documents.

Jia M. Tian, 58, appeared in D.C. Superior Court Tuesday alongside a Mandarin translator.

The woman was arrested Monday ; she’s been charged with defacing and destroying private property. A judge on Tuesday ordered her held without bond.

Authorities believe the green paint vandalism was part of a pattern of similar acts. Green paint was discovered splattered onto the Lincoln Memorial early Friday morning, and it was found later Friday on a statue outside the Smithsonian headquarters on the National Mall.

The woman, who has a Chinese passport, arrived in Washington a few days ago and was traveling on an expired visa, prosecutors said. Police said she had no fixed address but that she told officers she lived in Los Angeles.

Cleanup crews have been working for the past few days to remove the paint from the Lincoln Memorial. Cleanup and restoration work at the cathedral was estimated to cost $15,000.

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