Ex-Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool case
A former U.S. Olympic canoe racer has pleaded not guilty to a charge of willfully damaging the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.; It’s a politically charged case that defense attorneys deride as an abuse of prosecutorial power.
David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered his defense at his first hearing in D.C. Superior Court.
Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was charged last Thursday with a single count of felony destruction of property.
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary this month, but the project has been plagued by problems.
Workers used chemicals to prevent algae growth.
Trump said the pool would likely need to be drained again for liner repair after seeing pieces of blue liner floating on the surface.
Trump accused vandals of dumping fertilizer into the pool and cutting off the liner with a utility knife.
Six more people were arrested last week on misdemeanor charges related to the US$16 million ($23 million) pool project, said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the lead federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia.
Hearn’s lawyers said the charges against him were based on a “fabricated narrative” and “should be alarming to every American.”
“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to take responsibility for its own failures,” the lawyers said in their statement. he said.
“The justice system exists to determine the facts, not to provide political cover.”
Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained for five hours by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police after stopping by the pool during a 60-mile bike ride on June 19.
He said he reached out to examine the freshly peeled coating and briefly touched a piece attached to the edge of the pool, but obeyed a parking attendant who told him to let it go.
Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping recently installed sealant from the pool and behaving aggressively toward an employee who told him to stop.
