Former Olympic athlete indicted for Reflecting Pool vandalism by Trump administration

The administration of US President Donald Trump has announced felony charges against a former Olympic athlete for allegedly harming the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC. At a news conference on Thursday, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro accused professional canoeist David Hearn, 67, of deliberately vandalising the pool.

“Today, a grand jury has returned a felony indictment against a defendant, David Hearn, for felony destruction of property, for which he faces 10 years in prison,” Pirro, a Trump appointee, said. She called the destruction of national monuments “one of the most offensive images” she has ever seen. “This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behaviour, and that’s why we’re here today,” she added.

However, in media interviews, Hearn has denied any vandalism, saying that, like many Americans, he was simply curious about the Reflecting Pool when he visited on June 19. Hearn says he was cycling by the pool when he stopped to look at the peeling paint, and reached in the water to feel it. He denies removing any part of the pool.

Pirro, however, described a different scene. She said National Park Service employees observed Hearn “forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands”, damaging roughly 2 square feet — or around 0.18 square meters — of pool sealant. “A parks employee actually told Hearn to stop his behaviour and stop what he was doing. Hearn reacted by shouting at that parks employee,” Pirro alleged.

The Reflecting Pool had been the subject of a renovation effort Trump began in April, as part of a wider initiative to reshape Washington, DC, through controversial construction and maintenance projects. Trump awarded a no-bid contract to a firm to seal and resurface the granite pool in a colour he dubbed “American flag blue”. But observers noted that, as soon as the pool reopened in early June, it suffered an algae bloom, and blue paint began to peel from its bottom.

Faced with criticism about the $13.1m renovation contract, Trump countered that vandals had sabotaged the Reflecting Pool. At least seven people, including Hearn, have been arrested on allegations they may have harmed the pool’s blue-painted bottom.

Reporters confronted Pirro with questions about whether charging Hearn with a felony was disproportionately punitive, since similar cases have been considered misdemeanour offences. Pirro replied that she charges according to the evidence, and argued that Hearn caused damage exceeding $1,000, thereby necessitating a felony charge. She also dismissed comparisons with the millions of dollars in damage caused by Trump supporters during the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. “Are you really talking about January 6th? I’m not,” Pirro told one reporter.

A hearing in Hearn’s case is scheduled for July 9. Meanwhile, the Reflecting Pool has been fenced off amid ongoing work to kill the algae bloom and fix the peeling paint. Many visitors have come to see the pool and the controversial renovations. Some, like Brian Williams, 31, from Georgia, praised Trump’s efforts, while others, like Jon Delgado, 40, a Navy veteran from Tennessee, expressed frustration and called Trump’s vandalism claims “really crazy”.