Olympian David Hearn pleads not guilty
Former Olympian David Hearn before the Washington Supreme Court on July 9, 2026.
Daniel Heuer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Three-time U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony charge for allegedly tearing sealant at the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool in Washington.
Hearn’s lawyer later condemned prosecutors for filing an indictment against the 67-year-old man, calling him a political “scapegoat” for the Trump administration’s controversial approach to the renovation of the nearly 600-foot Reflecting Pool.
“Mr. Hearn pleaded not guilty because he was not guilty,” attorney Norm Eisen told reporters outside D.C. Superior Court.
“If Mr. Hearn could be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk, and every American should be alerted to this investigation,” Eisen said.
“It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool to touch the water in the United States.”
Hearn supporters gathered outside the court, holding signs reading “Trump always blames others for his own failures”; “Diverting Pool: Never accept failure;” and “Drop the Pressed Accusations.”
Hearn was arrested on misdemeanor charges on June 19 after the Bethesda, Maryland, resident stopped at the Reflecting Pool and laid down in the pool while riding his bike.
Hearn said he put his hand in the pool to see how it felt with the piece of blue liner partially separated from the bottom.
However US Attorney Jeanine Pirro of the District of Columbia alleged that he intentionally damaged 2 square feet of sealant when announcing on July 2 that a grand jury had indicted Hearn on a felony count of criminal damage to property.
“National Park staff observed Hearn pulling up and removing the lower liner with both hands in a really strong and violent manner,” Pirro said at a press conference that day.
The Washington Monument and Lincoln Reflecting Pool are seen as the scene of the Independence Day celebration of the “Salute to America” distributed by workers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on July 7, 2026.
Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images
Hearn is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, but would likely receive a much lighter sentence if convicted.
“The government’s evidence is weak,” he said Mary DohrmannAnother of Hearn’s lawyers also appeared in court, according to the Associated Press. Hearn was not required to post bail in the case.
President Donald Trump has made the renovation of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall a top priority of his administration.
That project was criticized by some because the administration awarded a no-bid contract to a company affiliated with a Trump donor to work on the pool, peeling a new blue liner from the bottom of the pool and turning the water green from algae.
Trump and government officials claimed, without any evidence, that vandals had cut a several-hundred-foot breach in the pool.
A. National Park Service an official application to court After renovations were substantially completed in early June, the U.S. Park Police said it found that the “caulk on top of the foam fill” in the pool had been “cut with a sharp knife or razor, destroying the delaminated surface material.”
Hearn is not accused of using a razor or knife.
“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to scapegoat Davy and take responsibility for its own failures,” Eisen said outside the court on Thursday. he said.
“This is a case that should never have been filed,” Eisen said. “Davey Hearn is innocent and we will fight this case and charge the justice system to do the right thing.”
“We will vigorously litigate these issues,” Eisen said. “We trust our justice system to stand behind this abuse of government power against ordinary Americans based on a false and politicized narrative.”
