A guy from South Carolina who wanted to keep the Washington monuments clean during the DC government shutdown was seen mowing the lawn around the Lincoln Memorial yesterday.

Reporters later interviewed the South Carolina man named Chris Cox, who bought an old lawn mower at a thrift store and hit the National Mall carrying a large flag and trash bags to empty the overflowing bins.

He told the Washington Post, "The building behind me serves as a moral compass, not only for our country but for the world. And over my dead body are we going to find trash pouring out of these trash cans," he said. "At the end of the day, we are the stewards of these buildings that are memorials."

Watch his statement on video below.

(READ the story with more photos in the Washington Post and NPR News)