Individual Arrested for Little Round Top Monument Vandalism

GETTYSBURG, Pa.-On March 6, 2026, National Park Service law enforcement rangers, with assistance from the Carlisle (PA) Police Department, arrested Lucas J. Reisinger, 36, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on two felony counts of destruction of veterans' memorials in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1369. Reisinger is accused of carving his initials into two monuments at Little Round Top in Gettysburg National Military Park in September 2025. Reisinger is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

On Sept. 14, 2025, National Park Service rangers received a report of an adult male using a knife to carve his initials into a monument on Little Round Top. An investigation determined that the initials "LJR" were carved into the plaque of the 44th New York Infantry Monument and into the face of Colonel Patrick O'Rorke on the 140th New York Infantry Monument.

Through investigative work, rangers developed evidence that led to a federal grand jury indictment and the issuance of an arrest warrant by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Each violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1369 carries a maximum penalty of $250,000 and up to 10 years in federal prison. The National Park Service will also seek full restitution, estimated at more than $11,000, for the damaged monuments.

The National Park Service thanks the following agencies for their assistance during the investigation: the Carlisle Police Department, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, U.S. Marshal's Service and the Adams County Department of Emergency Services.

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