Olympian indicted over Trump’s reflecting pool vandalism claim; lawyers call it ‘outrageous’ | World News
American David Hearn, of Bethesda, Md., makes his way through the C1 slalom course, Sept. 17, 2000, at Whitewater Stadium in Penrith, Australia. (AP Photo)
A grand jury in Washington DC has indicted three-time US Olympic canoe David Hearn, as reported The Guardian, following claims from the US President Donald Trump that vandals damaged the city’s reflecting pool after a $14.7 million renovation.
The indictment charges Hearn, 67, with a single felony count tied to breaking or removing lining material from the pool floor on June 19. His attorneys have denied the allegations and say the adminration is prosecuting normal conduct as a crime.
Prosecutor cites ‘tremendous evidence‘
US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro announced the single felony charge at a press conference Thursday, telling reporters that prosecutors had strong evidence that Hearn had forcefully removed the pool’s bottom liner and had been uncooperative with National Park Service staff who asked him to stop, the Guardian reported.
People wade in the Reflecting Pool during the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 2020, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. (AP Photo)
Pirro said the case was “about accountability for damaging a national resource, a national treasure.”
Hearn’s attorneys, Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann, said in a statement reported the Guardian that the charges were alarming and reflected a troubling use of government power against an ordinary citizen.Story continues below this ad
Renovation turned controversial after algae bloom
The renovation was ordered Trump to give the pool a blue tint ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Shortly after completion, an algae bloom turned the water green. Trump has since alleged a 300-foot tear was cut into the pool’s sealant, though the adminration has not released the photo or video evidence it said would support that claim.
Martin Zich, of Prague, Czech Republic, wades out of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington after going in to take photographs. (Photo: AP)
Hearn was originally arrested last month on a misdemeanor charge after he reached into the water to touch a loose section of liner.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn, who had been cycling, told the Washington Post the following day. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
He had just completed a 52-mile bike ride and stopped to view the renovated pool, as reported The Guardian.Story continues below this ad
Many supporters of the Poor People’s Campaign wade into the Reflecting Pool during the Solidarity Day program at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington June 19, 1968. (AP Photo)
The reflecting pool, completed in 1922, stretches roughly 2,000 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It was the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech.
The renovation contract was awarded without competitive bidding to a company Trump said had previously worked on pools at one of his golf properties.
