Key keywords: Donald Trump, National Mall Reflecting Pool, Federal Judge, National Park Service, Unauthorized Construction, National Historic Landmark, Washington DC, Legal Warning, Contempt of Court A federal judge in Washington DC issued a sharp, formal warning to former president Donald Trump earlier this week, ordering his campaign team to immediately cease all unapproved construction work on the iconic National Mall Reflecting Pool, and setting strict penalties for noncompliance. The dispute began in mid-July 2024, when Trump’s campaign submitted a permit application to the National Park Service (NPS) requesting permission to build a 120-foot raised stage and temporary seating area along the northern edge of the Reflecting Pool, for a planned campaign rally tied to the Republican National Convention. NPS rejected the application within 10 business days, citing multiple violations of the National Historic Preservation Act: the Reflecting Pool, completed in 1922 as part of the Lincoln Memorial complex, is a designated National Historic Landmark, and its 2012 $34 million restoration included custom-cut stone liners and sensitive aquatic habitats for native species that are easily damaged by heavy construction equipment. NPS officials also noted in their rejection that any construction within 50 feet of the pool requires a specialized environmental impact assessment that the Trump campaign never submitted. Last week, NPS rangers patrolling the National Mall spotted construction crews associated with Trump’s campaign excavating sections of the paved walkway along the pool’s northern edge, stacking steel support beams and plywood within the protected 50-foot buffer zone, and making small alterations to the pool’s edge stonework. The agency filed an emergency restraining order request the same day, bringing the case before DC District Court Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby. During the hearing, Judge Griggsby reviewed photographic evidence of the unauthorized work, as well as records showing the Trump campaign received the formal permit rejection via certified mail on July 22. She issued an immediate cease-and-desist order, warning Trump that failure to halt all work and restore the altered sections of the walkway and pool edge within 72 hours would result in a contempt of court charge, a minimum $150,000 fine, and a permanent ban on holding any events on NPS-managed public land in Washington DC. The judge also required the Trump campaign to post a $125,000 security bond to cover potential repair costs if additional damage is discovered during a post-work inspection, referencing the campaign’s 2020 violation of NPS rules, when unauthorized stage construction on the National Mall’s west lawn caused $276,000 in damage that the campaign only partially paid for. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign claimed after the hearing that the team believed they had received a “verbal approval” from a low-level NPS staffer for the work, but NPS officials testified that all permits for work on historic sites are issued in writing only, and no staffer has the authority to grant verbal approval for construction near the Reflecting Pool.