Cathedral suspect linked to other cases

WASHINGTON – A woman charged with defacing the Washington National Cathedral had a soda can of green paint with her 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.

Jiamei Tian, 58, appeared alongside a Mandarin translator on Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge ordered her held pending a hearing later this week.

Tian was arrested Monday at the cathedral, where she is accused of using green paint to deface an organ and decorative woodwork in two separate chapels. She’s been charged with destroying private property, a crime that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

The cathedral has said the damage to its chapels, including to a gilded wood altarpiece, will cost thousands of dollars to fix.

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 symbols were later found painted in green 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.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Tuesday on a news talk show on NewsChannel 8 that the incidents all appear to be connected. She said Tian has potential “mental health issues” and it’s still not clear what inspired the vandalism.