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Grand jury indicts former Olympian for 'violently' damaging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
- Rubin Report Staff
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
A former U.S. Olympian is facing a felony charge in connection with damages to the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. handed down an indictment on Thursday.
David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was charged with a single count of destruction of property. Hearn's indictment follows his arrest last month for allegedly vandalizing the resurfaced bottom of the Reflecting Pool, which the Trump administration spent weeks fixing and improving this spring. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced the charges at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
"Today, a grand jury has returned a felony indictment against a defendant, David Hearn, for felony destruction of property, for which he faces 10 years in prison," Pirro said, adding that the alleged vandalism occurred on June 19. "Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands."
Pirro went on to say that a parks employee intervened, telling Hearn to stop what he was doing, but Hearn shouted back at the employee and questioned the employee about why she cared about the Reflecting Pool.
Video captured on June 19 by journalist Emily Miller showed police arresting Hearn at the Reflecting Pool. After his arrest, Hearn admitted he was at the Reflecting Pool on June 19, but insisted he did nothing wrong.
U.S. Park Police have said the Reflecting Pool's protective liner was damaged by an individual who used a knife or razor to cut a large gash in it, and have sought help from the public in identifying suspects. At least seven have been arrested in connection with vandalism of the more than 100-year-old landmark. Below, watch Pirro's remarks at Thursday's press conference.
Hearn did nothing wrong. He touched a piece of floating debris from Trump’s vandalization of the reflecting pond. How the corrupt Pirro could stack a grand jury to say otherwise without evidence should alarm us all.