Former canoeist indicted in Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool damage case

David Hearn, a 67-year-old former canoeist, was indicted by a Washington, D.C., grand jury on July 2 on a felony destruction-of-property charge tied to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The indictment says Hearn damaged about two square feet of sealant in the pool, and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said he faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. He had been arrested on June 19 on a misdemeanor charge before the felony indictment followed.

Pirro said National Park Service employees saw Hearn forcefully pulling up the bottom liner with both hands. Hearn told The Washington Post he had been cycling, stopped to look at the pool and reached into the water only after noticing a partially detached piece of blue liner that was already loose. His lawyers, Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann, said he is innocent and called the charges outrageous.

Donald Trump personally ordered the Reflecting Pool renovation ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Trump described the site as a “dirty disgusting place” and said in April that the work would cost up to $2 million and last 30, 40 or 50 years. By late June, the project had cost roughly $14 million to more than $16 million, with additional repairs expected and the pool likely to be drained again.

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for a long slit in the lining and for fertilizer or chemicals in the water, but the administration had not provided evidence to back those claims. Algae is common in a shallow, still, sunny pool fed by nutrient-rich water. The algae returned and the paint peeled after the renovation.

Five people were arrested and five others received federal citations in connection with alleged vandalism claims at the site, and at least 14 police reports were filed.