(Newsweek)- Former Olympian David Hearn pleaded not guilty to vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during a brief hearing early Thursday.
Attorneys for Hearn, 67, entered the plea on his behalf during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court in Washington, where he’s due to return for a status hearing on August 5 for the single felony count of destruction of property he faces in connection to a June 19 incident as he wrapped up a 64-mile bike ride.
“Today, Davey Hearn pled not guilty – because he is,” attorney Norm Eisen told Newsweek in a statement. “If he can be charged with a felony for touching the reflecting pool, every American is at risk – and every American should be alarmed about this prosecution. The indictment reflects the administration’s effort to scapegoat Davey and to shift blame for their own failures. We will litigate these issues vigorously. We have confidence in our justice system to see through this misuse of government power against an ordinary American based on a false and politicised narrative.”
Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, who detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after he reached into the pool to get a closer look at paint peeling away from the Reflecting Pool amid a $14 million renovation, has previously denied the allegations.
“I did nothing wrong,” the three-time Olympian canoe racer told Newsweek during a brief interview last month.
Hearn previously said he felt unfairly targeted by the Trump administration following unsubstantiated claims that vandals dumped fertiliser in the massive pool and used knives or razors to create a 350-foot gash in the new liner.
David Hearn, 67, captured a photo of a detached piece of liner in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool just before his arrest last month.
David Hearn, 67, captured a photo of a detached piece of liner in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool just before his arrest last month. | Courtesy of David Hearn
“I feel like I was targeted and I’m feeling singled out—definitely,” he said last month.
Outside of court Thursday, dozens of people held signs in support of Hearn, including some that accused the Trump administration of “scapegoating” the former Olympian amid the ongoing Reflection Pool renovation.
“Paint won’t stick, you must acquit,” another sign read.
“I feel it’s an injustice,” Mary Witucki, a former canoe racer, told Newsweek outside of D.C. Superior Court. “And it’s typical of Trump to blame others, project blame onto others for his fiascos.”
Justice Department officials announced Hearn had been indicted by a grand jury last week.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro accused Hearn of deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, alleging that National Park Service (NPS) employees witnessed him “forcefully and violently” pulling up the pool’s newly installed bottom liner with both hands, causing roughly $1,000 in damage to about two square feet of sealant
“Today is about accountability for damaging a national resource,” Pirro told reporters during a July 2 news conference, adding that anyone who damages the site “will be held to account.”
Hearn faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted.
“Davey Hearn is innocent,” Hearn’s attorney, Norm Eisen, told Newsweek in a statement following the indictment. “These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American. This indictment reflects the Administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures. On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative. The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”
