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WASHINGTON — U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn was indicted Thursday on a single count of destruction of property after he was accused of causing more than $1,000 worth of damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
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Hearn was indicted on the felony charge in D.C. Superior Court.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said National Park Service employees saw Hearn “forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner” of the pool with both hands on June 19.
Several people have been arrested and cited after President Donald Trump, without evidence, blamed vandals for destroying the pool.
Pirro alleged that Hearn damaged about 2 square feet of the sealant from the bottom of the pool.
“A parks employee actually told Hearn to stop, to stop his behavior and stop what he was doing,” Pirro said at a news conference Thursday. “Hearn reacted by shouting at the parks employee, saying that she cared too much about the Reflecting Pool, and why did she even care, since it wasn’t her pool.”
Pirro said employees described Hearn as “belligerent, rude and disrespectful” and accused him of deliberately damaging the pool.
Hearn’s legal team, Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, and Mary Dohrmann, senior counsel at Washington Litigation Group, said in a statement: “Davey Hearn is innocent. These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American. This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures.”
“On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative,” the statement added. “The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”
Hearn previously told NBC News that he was arrested and detained for five hours after he touched a piece of the detached coating in the pool. He said he had stopped at the landmark site during a bike ride “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen of what was happening with all the algae and the peeling blue coating.”
Hearn said he did not remove, tear or destroy any of the coating.
“The condition of the Reflecting Pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there,” he said.
The lining of the Reflecting Pool had already come up in various locations before Hearn arrived on June 19. Responding to a question from NBC News on Thursday, Pirro did not specify what the condition of the sealant was at the location where authorities allege Hearn caused damage before he arrived on scene.
“We can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage, and that damage is over $1,000,” Pirro said.
Pirro said prosecutors would use an expert at trial to prove that the damage would cost more than $1,000 to repair, which is the element of the crime that would make the charge a felony rather than a misdemeanor. Pirro said federal authorities do not believe Hearn used any tool.
“Right now, we believe it was his bare hands, both hands,” Pirro said, adding that he could face 10 years in prison if he is convicted.
This spring, the pool underwent a $14 million-plus rehabilitation project, and a new liner and coating were added in a color Trump named “American flag blue.”
But photos showed that the blue sealant had started to peel away, leaving chunks floating on the surface, while algae growth turned the water green.
Last month, the National Park Service said the liner of the bottom of the pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor, causing damage to the foam sealant. The June 9 incident was reported to U.S. Park Police.
The claims were made in a court document filed as part of a lawsuit by a nonprofit organization seeking to halt the Trump administration’s work on the pool. According to Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service, roughly 70 fence post tops were also thrown into the pool.
Pirro said Thursday that there are about a half-dozen other cases related to the allegations of vandalism. Some may be misdemeanors, while others could be violations, she said.
“One of the most offensive images that I hold in my mind are the images of national moments that are being defaced, groped, torn down, graffitied and damaged by individuals,” she said. “This is not the way of the civilized society. It is anarchy.”
Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Marco Gacina is a Desk Assistant for NBC News.
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.
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