Former Olympian charged with destruction of property over damage to Lincoln Reflecting Pool

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Justice Department announced Thursday that it obtained an indictment against former Olympian David Hearn after prosecutors said he tore up the liner of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool last month.

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro told reporters that a D.C. Superior Court grand jury approved charging the three-time Olympic canoeist with felony destruction of property for using his hands to take out approximately two square feet of the “American flag blue” epoxy primer material.

Prosecutors specifically charge Hearn with violating D.C. Code Section 22-303, malicious destruction of another’s property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. According to Pirro, the charge reached the felony level because Hearn’s vandalism was valued at over $1,000.

At the opening of the press conference, Pirro referenced the widespread protests in the summer of 2020, where individuals defaced and tore down statues of Confederate generals, slave-owning historical figures and individuals like Christopher Columbus as “one of the most offensive images” in her mind.

“This is not the way of a civilized society; it is anarchy,” Pirro said. “This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior, and that’s why we’re here today. 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, have the right to decide what should happen.”

Hearn’s indictment comes amid the height of President Donald Trump’s efforts to remake Washington in his image, with those efforts ramping up in recent months in advance of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The Lincoln Reflecting Pool project has become the most controversial in the city, with a $6.9 million no-bid contract awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings — which previously worked on projects at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia — to paint the bottom of the pool “American Flag blue” rather than the historic gray.

Critics, such as the Cultural Landscape Foundation, slammed the project as a wasteful touchup that would make little difference when the pervasive algae blooms return, as they have done since the pool reopened in early June.

The advocacy group unsuccessfully sued to block the repainting project, arguing the Trump administration should not be allowed to make such an alteration before a court could review it as it had done with the East Wing.

However, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ultimately allowed the project to move forward after determining the bottom could be repainted back to its original dark gray.

The pool’s filtration system and plumbing system still require repairs — it has faced algae problems since its 1924 completion — but even when the Obama administration spent over $34 million to specifically address those issues in 2012, the algae returned within a matter of weeks.

Since Hearn’s arrest on June 19, National Guard troops began patrolling the pool itself and the National Park Service installed a perimeter fence and cameras warning passersby against loitering.

According to Pirro, Hearn was one of seven individuals to be arrested on charges of vandalizing the reflecting pool. Without providing specifics, Pirro said several individuals would likely face misdemeanor charges, while others may face felonies depending on the scale of damage.

Hearn’s attorneys, Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund and Mary Dohrmann of the Washington Litigation Group, said in a statement their client is innocent.

“These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American,” the attorneys said. “This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures. 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.”

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