A grand jury in D.C. indicted a former Olympic canoeist on Thursday for vandalizing the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said.
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David Hearn, 67, of Maryland faces one felony count of destruction of property tied to a June 19 incident in which National Park Service employees say they caught him trying to rip a portion of sealant from the pool’s bottom. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
“We will not allow our sacred monuments to be roped off 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,” Pirro said at a news conference. “These landmarks and monuments belong to all of us, and they must be protected for generations to come.”
The case against Hearn comes amid a Trump administration push to crack down on alleged vandals whom the president has blamed for damage to the Reflecting Pool.
Hearn has denied wrongdoing, saying he was wrongfully detained while on a bike ride around the pool. He was initially charged with a misdemeanor count of destruction of government property.
The Bethesda man previously told The Washington Post that he reached into the water after noticing a piece of the pool’s blue liner had become partially detached.
“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.”
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At the news conference Thursday, Pirro disputed that account, saying witnesses have described Hearn “forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands.”
Pirro said Hearn had damaged at least two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool, causing more than $1,000 in damage. When a Park Service employee tried to stop him, Hearn shouted at the employee that she cared too much about the pool and demanded to know why she cared, Pirro said.
Hearn’s arrest last month ignited a social media flurry as President Donald Trump and his allies blamed problems with the pool overhaul, including water quality and maintenance issues, on vandals and administration opponents.
Trump vowed last month that those who he said “vandalized” the pool could face lengthy prison sentences.
Pirro said Thursday that she was examining about a half dozen other cases against people accused of vandalism at the pool. Some would proceed as misdemeanor cases, while others might result in felony indictments, she said.
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