Former Olympian David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday after he was accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in an act of politically motivated vandalism.
Mr. Hearn, 67, entered the plea that his defense attorneys slammed as “weak” and an abuse of government power after President Trump blamed unnamed vandals for tampering with the repainted Reflecting Pool.
“If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk, and every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,” defense attorney Norm Eisen said to a press gaggle.
The three-time Olympian canoe racing competitor was indicted last week on charges of felony destruction of property for the alleged June 19 offense.
Mr. Hearn, a Bethesda resident, said he stopped by the monuments on a bike ride and reached into the pool to check out a piece of blue sealant that had broken off in the water.
Prosecutors argued he tore off the sealant that had been applied to the pool as part of a renovation project ahead of the nation’s 250th celebration.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Mr. Hearn became confrontational with a National Park Service employee who asked him why he was reaching into the water.
“Our evidence further shows that the NPS employee observed Hearn actually forcefully, violently pulling and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” Ms. Pirro said when announcing the charges.
Enhancements to the pool spurred a political fight last month about the project’s $14 million price tag and questions about painting its concrete base in “American flag blue.”
Days after the project was completed and the pool was refilled, the water turned green again from algae blooms.
Mr. Trump accused “sick, deranged people” of carving the pool’s liner and pouring chemicals into the water to destroy the paint job, and Ms. Pirro said several people were issued vandalism citations for damaging the pool.
But Mr. Hearn’s attorneys said the White House’s bluster is a distraction from its inability to perform a proper renovation.
“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.”
Mr. Hearn smiled to a crowd of supporters outside D.C. Superior Court as they chanted his name and held up signs saying “The Deflecting Pool: Never admit failure” and “Drop the Trumped Up Charges.”
Mr. Hearn is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage and could be sentenced to up to 10 years behind bars if convicted.
He returns to court Aug. 5.
