Man Charged with Felony for Damaging Reflecting Pool

About two weeks ago a man named David Hearn was arrested at the Reflecting Pool for allegedly damaging the sealant on the bottom of the pool. Today, Jeanine Pirro announced Hearn was being charged with a felony in that case.

A grand jury in D.C. indicted a former Olympic canoeist on Thursday for vandalizing the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said.

David Hearn, 67, of Maryland faces one felony count of destruction of property tied to a June 19 incident in which National Park Service employees say they caught him trying to rip a portion of sealant from the pool’s bottom. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

“We will not allow our sacred monuments to be roped off or diminished or in any way impacted by disgruntled individuals who think that they and not the rest of the nation have the right to decide what should happen,” Pirro said at a news conference. “These landmarks and monuments belong to all of us, and they must be protected for generations to come.”

The arrest was caught on video by Emily Miller but her video started after Hearn had already removed his hands from the pool.

Exclusive! RAW VIDEO. Man arrested for vandalizing Lincoln Reflecting Pool. He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae. Police and National Guard responded. Watch pic.twitter.com/oMIXFqKwEs

— emily miller (@emilymiller) June 19, 2026

Hearn has denied doing any damage to the pool. The Post published his account of what happened the day after he was arrested.

David Hearn had just finished a loop around Hains Point on Friday as part of a 52-mile bike ride when he swung by the Lincoln Memorial to see the refurbished Reflecting Pool for himself.

Noticing a piece of the new “American flag blue” liner that was partially detached from the pool bottom, Hearn said he reached into the water to see what it felt like…

In an interview Saturday, Hearn, 67, denied damaging government property and said he had never touched the hose, though he acknowledged that his bike tire may have.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn said. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

The story include a photo taken by Hearn that shows a piece of the liner floating in the water. But it’s not clear if that photo was taken before or after he reached in. The Post seemingly made no effort to provide any counterpoint to Hearn’s version of events. 

But today a grand jury indicted him. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro gave a press conference in which she claimed the government had eyewitnesses who saw Hearn reach into the pool with both hands and violently tear up a piece. “Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” she said. She continued,” According to witnesses, Hearn damaged approximately two square feet of 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. Hearn reacted by shouting at that Park’s employee, saying that she cared too much about the reflecting pool and why did she even care.”

Six other people have been arrested for damaging the pool. Pirro said that charges against them are pending.

Ms. Pirro said Thursday that her office was reviewing those cases and that some would likely result in misdemeanor charges and others in even lesser violations.

The news media seems to be rooting for this guy to get away with this solely so they can say there was never any cause to arrest him in the first place. We’ll have to see if the resistance winds up on the jury in this case.

This clip cuts off about a minute of Pirro’s statement but starts up right where she is discussion the evidence against Hearn.

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