It’s official: the former U.S. Olympian who was arrested for alleged vandalism of the newly-renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been indicted.
On Thursday, 67-year-old David Hearn was indicted by a grand jury on a felony destruction of property charge.
However, he maintains his innocence, insisting that he only “touched” the pool and did not cause any damage.
NBC News reported:
U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn was indicted Thursday on a single count of destruction of property after he was accused of causing more than $1,000 worth of damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hearn was indicted in D.C. Superior Court on the felony charge.
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said National Park Service employees saw Hearn “forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner” of the pool with both hands during a June 19 incident. She alleged that he damaged about two square feet of the sealant from the bottom of the pool.
“A parks employee actually told Hearn to stop, to stop his behavior and stop what he was doing,” Pirro said at a Thursday news conference. “Hearn reacted by shouting at the parks 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 employees described Hearn’s alleged behavior as “belligerent, rude, and disrespectful” and accused him of deliberately damaging the pool.
Hearn’s legal team, Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, and Mary Dohrmann, Senior Counsel at Washington Litigation Group, issued the following statement to NBC News.
“Davey Hearn is innocent. 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,” the statement read. “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.”
If convicted, Hearn could face up to 10 years in prison.
Watch U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announce the indictment here:
🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL: US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces a DC grand jury indicted former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was caught RIPPING the sealant in the reflecting pool, on FELONY DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY
FAFO. Hearn is facing 10 YEARS in prison
"Our evidence further shows… pic.twitter.com/1LHiGBsbpq
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 2, 2026
IT’S OFFICIAL: US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces a DC grand jury indicted former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was caught RIPPING the sealant in the reflecting pool, on FELONY DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY
FAFO. Hearn is facing 10 YEARS in prison
“Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually FORCEFULLY AND VlOLENTLY pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” per Pirro
He allegedly ripped up 2 SQUARE FEET of sealant, before getting in the face and SCREAMING at a female NPS employee who confronted him.
“This was a delivered act to damage the reflecting tool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore and have witnessed.”
Again, this is NOT a unilateral action by the DOJ. A GRAND JURY brought the felony indictment.
During today’s press conference, Jeanine Pirro was not suffering fools kindly!
Watch this:
🚨 WOW! US Attorney Jeanine Pirro takes NO BS from the fake news
PIRRO: Oh, HE DAMAGED the pool.
REPORTER: Had it already been damaged? But there are all these videos—
PIRRO: GOOD, I'm glad you got evidence! Come on the grand jury, you can testify! NEXT. 🔥👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/NCUJ1Nwxig
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 2, 2026
In another moment, when a fake news reporter tried to spring a “gotcha” question on her by bringing up J6, Pirro shot him down quick:
🚨 LMFAO! REPORTER: How do you square charging this man [for vandalizing the Reflecting Pool] when this same DOJ pardoned over 1,000 Jan. 6 rioters?
US ATTORNEY JEANINE PIRRO: "Are you REALLY telling me about Jan. 6?!"
REPORTER: Yes!
PIRRO: "I'm NOT. OK, who's next? NOT YOU,… pic.twitter.com/a0by1Ir1Xj
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 2, 2026
LMFAO! REPORTER: How do you square charging this man [for vandalizing the Reflecting Pool] when this same DOJ pardoned over 1,000 Jan. 6 rioters?
ADVERTISEMENTUS ATTORNEY JEANINE PIRRO: “Are you REALLY telling me about Jan. 6?!”
REPORTER: Yes!
PIRRO: “I’m NOT. OK, who’s next? NOT YOU, NO!”
The Trump administration has made it very clear: vandalizing national monuments will not be tolerated. Period.
These leftists are now in the finding out stage…
What do you think?
Do you agree with the charges?
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