Olympian David Hearn has been indicted by a D.C. grand jury on a felony charge related to alleged vandalism at the Washington, D.C., Reflecting Pool, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Thursday.
Hearn, 67, is accused of ripping out a piece of sealant on the bottom of the Reflecting Pool on June 19, Pirro said. Pirro said National Park Service employees observed him removing the bottom liner of the pool.
“One of the most offensive images that I hold in my mind are the images of national monuments that are being debased, roped, torn down, graffitied, and damaged by individuals,” Pirro said at a news conference on Thursday. “This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior, and that’s why we are here today.”
Hearn, who lives in Bethesda, Maryland, said he stopped by the pool last month while on a 64-mile bike ride, and authorities arrested him after he reached down into the pool. He said he was held for five hours.
Hearn’s attorneys issued a statement shortly after Pirro’s announcement saying that Hearn is innocent and the “indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures.”
Hearn’s case is being handled in D.C. Superior Court.
According to a court docket, Hearn is facing a charge for destruction of property for causing more than $1,000 of damage.
Hearn faces up to 10 years in prison, if convicted.
When an employee told him to stop what he was doing, Pirro said Hearn “reacted by shouting at that park’s employee, saying that she cared too much about the reflecting pool, and why did she even care, since it wasn’t her pool.”
Pirro said there are about half a dozen cases related to vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, but she added that it was not clear yet if there would be more indictments on felony charges. She said some individuals may be charged with misdemeanors, rather than felonies.
Pirro added that her office is also still investigating the large gash in the liner of the pool described in a court document by a Trump administration official.
Hearn has previously denied wrongdoing, telling the Associated Press last month he merely reached down to touch a chunk of sealant out of curiosity, and let go after a park worker told him to.
“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said in an interview last month. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”
President Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for problems at the Reflecting Pool, after paint began to peel from it shortly after the renovations were completed and the pool turned green from algae.
CBS News previously reported that the federal government awarded a company owned by a Trump donor a $1.7 million contract to install a new water cleaning system for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Frank Lands, deputy director for operations for the National Park Service, said in a court filing last month that the Park Service had reported the damage on June 9 to the U.S. Park Police.
At least five people have been arrested for alleged vandalism related to the Reflecting Pool, and five additional people were issued federal citations, according to the U.S. Park Police. But details of the evidence against those other individuals has not yet been released.