A former US Olympic athlete entered a not guilty plea Thursday to felony charges of damaging the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which underwent a costly renovation featuring a custom blue liner commissioned by the Trump administration.
David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist, appeared in Washington DC superior court to contest a single count of property destruction stemming from an incident in mid-June. The charge carries significant weight: prosecutors claim Hearn caused over $1,000 in damage to the 2,000-foot pool's newly installed bottom liner.
The reflecting pool underwent a $14.7 million makeover that included replacing its traditional gray interior with what the renovation team called "American flag blue" lining material. The project was billed as part of celebrations marking 250 years since US independence. But almost immediately, the expensive refurbishment ran into trouble. An algae bloom turned the water murky green, and pieces of the blue liner began peeling away.
Hearn's account differs sharply from prosecutors' narrative. The 67-year-old cyclist said his bike tire may have incidentally contacted a hose that National Park Service workers were using to combat the algae problem. He flatly denied removing or damaging any pool materials. "I didn't vandalize anything," Hearn told The Washington Post. "I didn't destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs."
US Attorney for Washington DC Jeanine Pirro told the court last week that investigators had assembled "tremendous evidence" showing Hearn "forcefully and violently" extracted the bottom liner. His defense team has pushed back forcefully, characterizing the prosecution's case as a "concocted narrative" that should trouble citizens across the country.
The judge released Hearn on a personal recognizance bond and scheduled a status hearing for August 5.
Author James Rodriguez: "The optics here are rough for prosecutors, not the defendant. When a multimillion-dollar federal project fails spectacularly and officials need a scapegoat, they tend to reach."
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