A grand jury in the District of Columbia indicted former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn on Thursday for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool last month.
Hearn was charged with one felony count of destruction of property, for which he faces 10 years in prison if convicted. The criminal case is before the D.C. Superior Court.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the single charge at a press conference.
“The evidence shows we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn willfully destroyed property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,” Pirro said. “This was a deliberate act to damage the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore and have witnessed.”
Hearn admitted to reaching into the Reflecting Pool, according to the federal prosecutor. The defendant previously denied that he intentionally damaged the newly installed pool liner, but witnesses tell a different story.
“Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” Pirro said, adding that he “damaged approximately 2 square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool.”
A National Park Service employee ordered Hearn to stop the alleged vandalism. Pirro noted he responded by shouting at the government employee, “saying that [the employee] cared too much about the Reflecting Pool and why did she even care since it wasn’t her pool.”
Hearn was promptly arrested following the June 19 incident. He was riding his bike when he stopped by the landmark and touched a piece of the pool’s “American flag blue” coating. The former three-time Olympian claimed it was detached when he arrived.
Hearn is scheduled to appear before the D.C. Superior Court on July 9.
An indictment was expected for this particular suspect, as President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for destroying the newly renovated Reflecting Pool. Others have been arrested and cited for alleged vandalism.
US PARK POLICE ARREST FORMER OLYMPIAN FOR VANDALISM OF REFLECTING POOL
In a court filing submitted last week, an NPS official admitted the foam sealant in the pool was cut with a “sharp knife or razor” on June 9 and disclosed that about 70 fence post tops were tossed into the pool. The court document pertains to a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization that wishes to halt the Trump administration’s repair work on the pool.
The administration is prepared to start draining the Reflecting Pool after Saturday, which marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to allow for repairs.