A grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted a three-time Olympian for allegedly vandalizing the refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to The Washington Post.
The grand jury indicted Olympian David Hearn on one count of destruction of property, a felony charge that can carry up to 10 years in prison. Hearn told NBC News that officers arrested him on June 19 after he touched a piece of the detached coating in the pool. He told the outlet he had stopped at the monument “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen of what was happening with all the algae and the peeling blue coating.”
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Hearn maintains that he did not remove, tear or destroy any of the coating he touched.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn said, according to The Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro disputes his claims, saying employees with the National Park Service watched Hearn remove the bottom liner of the pool. She described Hearn’s actions as a “violent effort.”
“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 on Thursday, according to CBS News. “This unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior, and that’s why we are here today.”
Pirro said that employees had told Hearn to stop, but he “reacted by shouting at the parks employee.”
Authorities have arrested or cited several people after President Donald Trump blamed vandals for destroying the pool, as Straight Arrow has previously reported. He has not provided any evidence to support his claims.
The pool has recently undergone reconstruction, with a new blue liner installed at the president’s request.
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