A former Olympic canoe racer has pleaded not guilty to intentionally damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. David Hearn, 67, entered his plea Thursday in D.C. Superior Court to a single felony count of property destruction.
Hearn’s defense attorneys have called the charges an abuse of prosecutorial power and a politically motivated attempt to shift blame for project failures. "This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures," the lawyers said in a statement. "The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”
The Reflecting Pool underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation ordered by President Donald Trump ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary. However, the project has faced issues, including an algae bloom that required chemical treatment and concerns about the pool’s liner, with chunks of blue coating observed floating on the surface.
Trump has asserted that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and damaged its coating with a box cutter. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, stated that six other individuals were arrested on misdemeanor charges related to the $16 million project.
Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours on June 19. He said he stopped by the pool during a 64-mile bike ride, reached in to examine newly peeled coating, and briefly touched a detached piece of sealant before being told to stop by a park worker.
Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by tearing up recently installed sealant and acting belligerently toward an employee. Hearn’s attorneys have described the charges against him as being based on a "concocted narrative."