Former US Olympian pleads not guilty to damaging reflecting pool amid Trump’s renovation | Trump administration

David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of damaging Washington’s reflecting pool following a $14.7 million renovation project.

Hearn, a three-time U.S. Olympian, was charged last week with a single count of criminal damage to property. He appeared in the local superior court in Washington, D.C., to enter a plea in mid-June after he was indicted for the incident.

The conflict revolves around the 2,000-foot-long (600-meter) pool, the centerpiece of Washington’s National Mall, which was renovated with an “American flag blue” lining at Trump’s request as part of celebrations of the 250th anniversary of US independence. The multimillion-dollar renovation was plagued by problems such as algal blooms that dyed the water green and the blue lining peeling away.

The 67-year-old former Olympian is accused of “maliciously” breaking or destroying the lining material at the bottom of the reflecting pool on June 19.

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, DC, claimed last Thursday that prosecutors have “tremendous evidence” that the Olympians “forcibly and violently” pulled up and removed the bottom liner from the reflecting pool, causing damage totaling more than $1,000.

The 67-year-old cyclist denied removing anything from the pool, but acknowledged that his bike tire may have come into contact with the hose National Park Service workers used to remove algae. Hearn’s lawyers said the charges against him were based on a “fabricated narrative” and “should be alarming to every American.”

‘I didn’t hurt anything,’ Hearn said Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy, break or rob anything. When I realized what was happening, I was being handcuffed.”

Hearn was released on personal recognizance bail and the judge ordered a status hearing on Aug. 5.