National Park Service workers use vacuum pumps to clean algae off the bottom of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., on June 20. A former Olympic kayaker was indicted for allegeldy damaging the reflecting pool. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted U.S. Olympian David “Davey” Hearn on a charge of felony destruction of property, as the Trump administration blames vandalism for damage to the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The indictment alleges that on June 19, Hearn, 67, willfully ripped up a piece of recently installed blue pool sealant from the pool’s bottom.
In announcing the charge during a press conference, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro linked the alleged crime to the toppling and defacing of monuments, including Confederate statues, during the 2020 racial justice protests, calling such conduct “anarchy.”
“This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior. And that’s why we’re here today,” she said.
“They are an affront to the dignity of our shared history and we will not allow our sacred monuments to be roped off, defaced or diminished or in any way impacted by disgruntled individuals who think that they, and not the rest of the nation, decide what should happen.”
Hearn’s attorney, Norm Eisen, has rejected the charges as “outrageous” and said that they should be “alarming to every American.”
“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort for their failures,” Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, said in a statement.
“On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative. The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”
At a cost of about $15 million, President Donald Trump recently ordered that the Reflecting Pool be painted “American flag blue” ahead of celebrations marking the United States’ 250th anniversary.
But within days of the work being completed on June 6, the pool began experiencing issues, from algae blooms to blue coating peeling off its bottom. Videos posted online show the pool’s surface green with algae. Others showed individuals reaching into the pool, touching the peeling blue paint.
Trump has claimed that vandals damaged the pool, which has not been verified, and said numerous people have been arrested in response — Hearn among them.
Hearn told NBC News on Thursday he was arrested and detained for five hours on June 19, after he touched a piece of the detached coating in the pool.
He said he had stopped at the landmark during a bike ride “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen of what was happening with all the algae and the peeling blue coating.”
Hearn said he did not remove, tear or destroy any of the coating.
“The condition of the Reflecting Pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there,” he said.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn said. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
During the Justice Department press conference, Pirro accused Hearn of “willfully” destroying government property in “a deliberate act.”
“Our evidence shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” she said, citing witnesses who said they allegedly saw Hearn damage two square feet of sealant.
According to Pirro, the amount of damage he allegedly caused was in excess of $1,000.
She also stated that Hearn allegedly shouted at the National Park Service employee who told the Olympian to stop.
Pirro said the employee described Hearn’s behavior as “belligerent, rude and disrespectful.”
If convicted, Hearn faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment. A court hearing has been scheduled for July 9.
Hearn competed at the Olympic Summer Games for the United States in 1992, 1996 and 2000.
The National Park Service has claimed that vandals cut a large gash in the liner, likely with a box cutter.
Pirro told reporters that they had about half a dozen pending cases related to damage at the pool, some of which will be charged as misdemeanors and others could be treated as lesser violations.
