Former Olympian Indicted for Alleged Vandalism at Washington, D.C. Reflecting Pool

David Hearn, a three‑time United States Olympian and canoeist, has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., after former President Donald Trump attributed damage to the reflecting pool to vandals following a $14.7 million renovation.

The indictment alleges that Hearn “maliciously” broke or destroyed the pool’s lining material on June 19. Hearn’s attorneys denied the accusations after his arrest, contending that the Trump administration was criminalizing ordinary behavior.

The president ordered a sweeping renovation to render the reflecting pool “American flag blue” before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations this weekend. Shortly after the work was finished, an algae bloom turned the water green.

Trump alleged that a 300‑foot “gash” was cut through the sealant applied by contractors during the renovation. He asserted that the federal government would release photographs and video to support his claim, but no such evidence has been made public.

Hearn was arrested last month on a misdemeanor charge of damaging government property after he noticed a section of the blue liner that had become partially detached and reached into the water to examine it.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn, who was cycling, told the Washington Post the next day. “I didn’t destroy, break, or peel anything. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already in handcuffs.”

At the time of his arrest, Hearn had just completed a 52‑mile bike ride and visited the Lincoln Memorial to view the renovated reflecting pool.

Constructed in 1922, the pool extends more than 2,000 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the reflecting pool.

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