Ex-Olympian arrested as Trump says vandals damaged Reflecting Pool | World | News
Trump holds a picture of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during construction (Image: Getty)
US President Donald Trump used social media on Saturday to attack “vandals” who he claimed were responsible for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC; A former Olympic athlete was among those arrested.
Trump claimed on Truth Social, his preferred social channel, that federal authorities had “multiple arrested” people who he claimed were vandalizing the Reflecting Pool.
Early Sunday morning, Trump wrote online: “Several additional arrests have been made in connection with the disgraceful Vandalism of our Beautiful Reflecting Pool.
“What they’ve damaged doesn’t even include the premature killing of a large amount of grass, which is minimal by far. They took some kind of knife or knife and cut a 250-foot gash into the beautiful façade of what took so much work, skill and money to build and complete.”
“They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.”
The US President said contractors said the Reflecting Pool had to be drained for repairs on Saturday, but the work “will be done as quickly as possible”, adding that he was trying to explain why the over $14 million rehabilitation project launched for the country’s 250th anniversary had backfired.
Cleaning of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Continues (Image: Getty)
Trump’s claims come after a former Olympian was arrested for allegedly damaging a pool. David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist competing for the United States, told the Washington Post that he was cycling past the monument on Friday when he stopped and noticed a piece of the pool liner floating in the water.
Hearn, 67, said he reached into the newspaper and touched the torn piece of lining. He was taken into custody by Park Police within minutes.
Now-viral video footage shows Hearn appearing confused as he was confronted by members of the National Guard. He is then seen being handcuffed by the police.
“I didn’t hurt anything,” Hearn said, according to The Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy, break or rob anything. When I realized what was happening, I was being handcuffed.
“I reached in there and managed to grab the end of that flapping piece that had already peeled off. The piece was still attached to the base. I didn’t pull anything out.”
Hearn competed in Whitewater Slalom Canoeing for the United States at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.
The former Olympian said he was detained at the Park Police facility for almost five hours. He is scheduled to appear before D.C. Superior Court on July 9.
National Park Service workers use vacuum cleaners to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (Image: Getty)
The Olympian’s arrest follows the US President’s earlier claims on Friday (June 19) that there were “some real problems with vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool”.
“It’s a shame that the Radical Left Crazies, most likely the Dumocats, who spend their lives destroying our country, are free to do so,” Trump wrote.
“Law Enforcement is actively investigating this situation and hopefully will resolve it soon.”
The 47th US President also attacked a reporter during the Reflecting Pool debacle, accusing “light ABC Reporter Jonathan Karl” of sticking his hand into the pool and trying to rub the rubber on the surface.
His comments come after Karl told ABC News on Thursday that his team found the Reflecting Pool full of dirt and green algae. Karl added that his multimillion-dollar paint business also collapsed.
Algae is seen in the Lincoln Memorial Pool (Image: Getty)
Earlier this month, Trump announced the completion of the Reflecting Pool’s restoration on Truth Social, boasting that the renovation was “very complex but powerful.”
The president also said clean water had been added to the pool, but just weeks after Trump’s triumphant announcement, algae growth had turned the new water in the Reflecting Pool a sickening green. Last week, crews were seen pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to prevent further algae growth.
The US Department of the Interior, the government body overseeing the project, said in a statement to the press that “nanobubble technology” was installed to prevent algae growth.
Trump claimed that 75 percent of the algae had disappeared. The Reflecting Pool had troubled previous U.S. administrations because algae growth often prevented water from properly reflecting the monument as designed.
