David Hearn, ex-Olympic canoeist, indicted for felony vandalism of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after Trump’s costly renovation turns green

David Hearn, 67, a former US Olympic canoeist and two-time world champion, was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., on a felony charge of destruction of property valued at $1,000 or more. The indictment, announced on 2 July 2026, stems from a 19 June incident in which Hearn allegedly reached into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and pulled at a piece of newly installed sealant.

The arrest and the defendant’s account

Hearn, a resident of Bethesda, Maryland, had just completed a 52‑mile (about 100 km) bike ride when he stopped at the Lincoln Memorial to view the renovated pool. According to his own statements to multiple outlets, he noticed a partly detached strip of blue liner and reached into the water “to see what it felt like.” He said he immediately let go when a park employee ordered him to stop. Park Police and National Guard soldiers detained him for nearly five hours before releasing him.

I didn’t vandalize anything. I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.

Lawyers for Hearn have denied the allegations and accused the Trump administration of treating ordinary behaviour as criminal.

The renovation fiasco

In April 2026, President Trump ordered the reflecting pool drained, resurfaced, and painted what he called “American flag blue” ahead of the 4 July celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence. The administration awarded no‑bid contracts for the work, with costs reported at $14.2 million by the Wall Street Journal, $14.7 million by the Guardian, and $16.4 million by the New York Times. Trump had claimed his renovation would be far more successful than those of previous administrations and that a company which had worked on swimming pools at one of his golf clubs carried out the job.

Within days of completion, however, the water had turned green from algae blooms and chunks of the new sealant were seen floating on the surface. Past administrations, including Barack Obama’s, had wrestled with keeping the 1922‑built, more‑than‑2,000‑ft‑long pool free of algae, but experts said the rushed makeover aggravated the problems.

Indictment and political reaction

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the indictment at a press conference on Thursday. She described Hearn’s act as a “deliberate act to damage the reflecting pool” and said he “forcefully and violently” pulled the pool’s lining. The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

The indictment is in response to an incident that occurred on June 19th of 2026, in which the defendant, Hearn, ripped a piece of recently installed sealant on the bottom of the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial.

President Trump had publicly blamed vandals for the pool’s condition, claiming without evidence that a 300‑ft “gash” had been cut through the sealant and that chemicals had been poured into the water. He said multiple people had been arrested for damaging the pool. Hearn’s indictment is the first felony charge secured since the administration pledged to target alleged vandals. Federal officials have said seven people, including Hearn, have been arrested on vandalism charges related to the pool.