U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn has been indicted in Washington, D.C., on a felony property-destruction charge over alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to NBC News. The case turns on a very small piece of the pool bottom, and it lands inside a much larger political fight over a renovation that Trump administration officials have blamed on vandals.
NBC News reported that Hearn was indicted Thursday in D.C. Superior Court on one count of destruction of property. Prosecutors accused him of causing more than $1,000 in damage to the reflecting pool.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said at a news conference that National Park Service employees saw Hearn on June 19 “forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner” with both hands, according to NBC News. Pirro said Hearn damaged about 2 square feet of sealant from the pool floor.
Pirro also said a park employee told Hearn to stop. According to Pirro’s account, Hearn responded by shouting that the employee cared too much about the Reflecting Pool and asked why she cared because it was not her pool.
The charge is a felony, but the alleged physical act described by prosecutors is narrow: pulling at a section of liner or sealant on the bottom of a federal monument’s pool. Techdirt noted that Wikipedia lists the reflecting pool’s area at roughly 339,000 square feet. Using that figure, the 2 square feet Pirro described would amount to about 0.00059% of the pool bottom. The math is not doing the prosecution’s drama any favors.
A renovation dispute became a vandalism campaign
The indictment follows weeks of administration claims that problems with the Reflecting Pool came from vandalism rather than a failed renovation. Techdirt reported that President Donald Trump pushed for the pool bottom to be redone in a blue color he described as “American flag blue,” and said the work was handled through no-bid contracting. Techdirt also reported that the project ran over budget and that algae later made the water appear green rather than blue.
FactCheck.org has described Trump’s claims about vandalism at the pool, including claims about algae and peeling material, as unsupported. The Department of the Interior has continued to say the liner was vandalized after the work was finished and the pool was refilled.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the administration’s version in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” telling Dana Bash that officials had photographs that he said showed vandals cut portions of the pool bottom, according to Politico. Burgum also said people who deface monuments should face consequences, though he used the word “defaming” in the interview.
The Hill reported that Trump, during one press conference, described a slit in the pool liner and gave figures that grew from 150 feet to 350 feet. In the same press conference, the Justice Department said 14 vandalism reports had produced five arrests, according to Techdirt’s account of The Hill’s reporting.
Hearn is now the most recognizable person publicly tied to that enforcement push. Prosecutors have alleged he damaged federal property. The public record described in reporting so far says the alleged damage covered about 2 square feet. Those two facts can coexist, though only one of them sounds like the version officials appear eager to sell.
This story draws on original reporting from Techdirt.
