RNC Fireworks Caused $42K In Damage To National Mall, Group Says

WASHINGTON, DC — A fireworks celebration that was hosted last July by the Republican National Convention and that took place at the prompting of then-President Donald Trump caused more than $42,000 damage at the National Mall, according to a letter obtained by a Democratic watchdog organization.

The letter, which was obtained and released by the Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), said that the damage was caused in a number of ways, including by a forklift operator and from the fireworks themselves, which left scorch marks to the property, the letter stated.

The letter, which was sent to the RNC by the Department of Interior in February, outlined the damages which was done to the National Mall, which is part of property owned by the National Park System. In total, the letter states that the fireworks display did damage totaling $42,150.

Among the damages was that left by a forklift driver who “drove at a high rate of speed” across the turf and near the sidewalks, turf damage from the fireworks setup, scorch marks from the fireworks and extensive compaction damage from “improper setup” and by security and other vehicles driving throughout the turf, the latter states.

Turf damage along accounted for nearly $26,000 of the total damages, the letter states. The display was part of an event pushed for by Trump as part of a "Salute To America" celebration that was held despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Similar events across the country were forced to be canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

CREW reported on its website Wednesday that the Park Service spent more than 4,000 hours preparing for the fireworks display last summer, which accounted for $177,000 in labor costs which the organization the RNC reimbursed. The organization wrote on its website that Trump repeatedly used the Parks System for his own benefit but that the fireworks show was “especially egregious.”

The organization also wrote that it had obtained the letter and records having to do with the damage to the National Mall to “reveal the full cost to taxpayers of Trump’s rampant use of Interior resources for self-aggrandizement.”