Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony charge of destruction of property related to an incident at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Hearn was arrested on June 19 after allegedly tampering with the sealant installed during recent renovations.
During a hearing before DC Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean, Hearn's defense attorney, Mary Dohrmann, entered the plea on his behalf. "It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool, to touch water in the United States of America," stated fellow defense lawyer Norm Eisen to reporters outside the courthouse. Eisen characterized the prosecution as a "misuse of government power against an ordinary American based on a false and politicized narrative."
Prosecutors, led by DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, indicted the three-time Olympian on July 2. Pirro stated that evidence will show National Park Service employees observed Hearn "forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands," damaging approximately two square feet of sealant. "This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to scapegoat Davey and to shift blame for their own failures," Eisen added.
Hearn, 67, had previously told The Washington Post that he grabbed a "flapping piece" of the sealant that was "still attached to the bottom" but maintained he did not "destroy or break or peel anything."
Video footage posted on social media showed Hearn being taken into custody near his bicycle, with the peeled-back lining visible. Supporters held signs outside the courthouse that read "Deflecting Pool."
The incident occurred amid extensive renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The U.S. government has spent over $16 million on taxpayer-funded upgrades to the historic site. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum confirmed that the pool was being drained for the second time in three months following recent celebrations.
An algae bloom had also developed in the pool, which the Interior Department attributed to the recently applied sealant. The department selected Atlantic Industrial Coatings for the application and subsequent repairs to the pool's liner.
Prosecutors requested a stay-away order for Hearn, but Judge McLean declined to grant it. Hearn was released on a personal recognizance bond, with a status conference scheduled for August 5. His trial could begin as early as February 2027.