Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after
Trump alleged vandalism
[July 10, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty on
Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln
Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense
attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an
abuse of prosecutorial power.
David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea
through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C.
Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last
Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.
Before the country's 250th independence celebrations, President Donald
Trump launched a multimillion dollar renovation project for the
Reflecting Pool, which was plagued by problems, including damage to its
new coating. Trump, without providing evidence, has alleged the damage
was caused by vandals.
Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant
and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker. He is
accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage.
“Every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,” defense
attorney Norm Eisen said after the hearing. “It is not a crime to touch
the Reflecting Pool.”
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with
misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting
Pool, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty
during their initial court appearances Wednesday, records show.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District
of Columbia, said vandalizing the nation's monuments and public spaces
is “an affront to our shared history.”
“The law applies equally to everyone, and when it is broken, there are
consequences," she said in a statement on Thursday.
Defense says prosecutors' evidence is ‘weak’
In front of a packed courtroom, D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean
did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he is free
awaiting a trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.
A prosecutor, Kevin Reddington, said the government wasn’t seeking any
court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order” without
specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.
Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn’s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose
any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding
citizen and member of the community.”
“The government’s evidence is weak,” she added.
Supporters cheered after the hearing
Dozens of supporters, many carrying homemade signs, gathered outside the
courthouse and chanted “Davey!” as Hearn left after the hearing. Hearn
joined his attorneys in front of a bank of cameras and smiled to
supporters but did not speak. He raised his right hand and pumped his
fist as he left.
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Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, left, listens as his attorney
Norman Eisen, right, speaks after he pleaded not guilty to allegedly
damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Thursday, July 9,
2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Adam Van Grack, who chaired the U.S. Olympic national governing body
for canoe and kayak sports, joined the throng of supporters who
cheered for Hearn after the hearing. Van Grack said Hearn has spent
decades voluntarily maintaining National Park Service property that
the canoeists used as a training course along the Potomac River.
“This is a person who has devoted his life to representing the
United States on an international stage, caring for the community
and protecting and caring for National Park Service property,” Van
Grack said. “So the idea that he is a malicious destroyer of federal
property shocks the conscience and makes no sense to anybody who’s
ever known Davey Hearn.”
Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by
National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after
stopping by the pool during a 64-mile (103 kilometer) bike ride on
June 19. He said he reached in to examine newly peeled coating and
briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed
a park worker who told him to let go of it.
Pool project has been plagued by problems
The pool's renovation has been riddled with problems. Workers have
used devices called nanobubblers to curtail an algae bloom. The
devices infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria.
Officials have said the pool most likely would need to be drained
again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen
floating at the surface.
Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped
fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter.
Pirro, a former Fox News host who was appointed by Trump, said last
week that six other people were arrested on misdemeanor charges
related to the $16 million pool project.
Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping
up recently installed sealant from the pool and acting belligerently
toward an employee who told him to stop.
Hearn’s attorneys have said the charges against him are based on a
“concocted narrative” and “should be alarming to every American.”
“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.”
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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly and AP video journalist Nathan
Ellgren contributed to this report.
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