A three-time US Olympian faces federal charges after a grand jury indicted him for allegedly damaging the lining of Washington's iconic reflecting pool, an incident that surfaced just days after a $14.7 million renovation project wrapped up.
David Hearn, a competitive canoeist, was arrested in June after he touched a peeling section of the pool's blue liner while visiting the Lincoln Memorial. The indictment accuses him of maliciously breaking or destroying the lining material on June 19.
Hearn has denied the allegations. His legal team contends he was engaged in ordinary conduct when he noticed the detached piece and reached down to feel it. "I didn't vandalize anything," Hearn told the Washington Post shortly after his arrest. "I didn't destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs."
The incident occurred just after Hearn finished a 52-mile bike ride and decided to visit the renovated site.
The reflecting pool, constructed in 1922, stretches more than 2,000 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It served as the backdrop for Martin Luther King Jr's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
President Trump had ordered the extensive renovation to transform the pool's appearance in time for the nation's 250th birthday celebrations. But within days of completion, an algae bloom turned the water green, complicating the original vision.
Trump alleged that a 300-foot gash was cut through the sealant applied by contractors. He indicated his administration would release photographs and video evidence to back up the claim, though no such materials have surfaced publicly.
The Trump administration awarded a no-bid contract for the project to a company the president said had previously completed work on swimming pools at one of his golf clubs.
Hearn was originally charged with a misdemeanor count of destruction of government property. His lawyers have accused the administration of criminalizing routine behavior.
Author James Rodriguez: "The indictment of an Olympian for touching pool liner feels like an overreach that turns a tourist's curiosity into a federal case."
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