A U.S. Olympian canoeist who was arrested for allegedly vandalizing the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial has been indicted by a federal grand jury, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
David Hearn, 67, willfully and “violently” damaged a 2-square-foot section of the sealant at the pool on June 19 after it was renovated by order of President Donald Trump, according to Pirro.
‘By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.’
“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 in a media briefing.
She said Hearn admitted to reaching down into the pool and that National Park Service employees observed him forcefully pulling up and removing the bottom liner “with both hands.”
A National Park Service employee reportedly told Hearn to stop what he was doing.
“Hearn reacted by shouting at that Parks employee, saying that she cared too much about the reflecting pool,” Pirro said.
The witnesses described Hearn’s behavior as “belligerent, rude, and disrespectful.”
Hearn denied damaging the liner in comments to the Washington Post.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” he 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 renovation of the reflecting pool has been mocked by many on the left, but others say it was a necessary and reasonable effort to clean up the monument for the 250th anniversary celebration.
Hearn competed for the U.S. in the 2000 Olympics.
RELATED: Trump greets crew that restored Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in visit to the White House
“This was a deliberate act to damage the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore and have witnessed,” Pirro said.
She added that there are about six other similar cases being investigated.
“Some of them will be misdemeanors, and some of them could be less, like a violation, but we’re reviewing every case based upon the evidence and reviewing all of the reports, and right now it’s about another half dozen misdemeanors,” Pirro said.
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