{"id":4632,"date":"2026-07-09T14:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4632"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:34:47","slug":"former-olympian-pleads-not-guilty-in-reflecting-pool-damage-case-after-trump-alleged-vandalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4632","title":{"rendered":"Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after Trump alleged vandalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty on Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an abuse of prosecutorial power.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4630\">Game 91: Red Sox look to sweep White Sox in Thursday matinee<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In front of a packed courtroom, D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he is free awaiting a trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Dozens of supporters, many carrying homemade signs, gathered outside the courthouse and waited for Hearn to leave after the hearing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>President Donald Trump ordered a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary this month, but the project has been plagued with problems. Workers have used chemicals to curtail an algae bloom. Trump has said the pool likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, said last week that six other people were arrested on misdemeanor charges related to the $16 million pool project.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4628\">Boston Lax All-American game showcases MIAA and ISL\u2019s best in OT thriller<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Hearn\u2019s attorneys have said the charges against him are based on a \u201cconcocted narrative\u201d and \u201cshould be alarming to every American.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThis indictment reflects the administration\u2019s effort to shift blame for their own failures,\u201d the lawyers said in a statement. \u201cThe justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a 64-mile bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping up recently installed sealant from the pool and acting belligerently toward an employee who told him to stop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4626\">World Cup viewership numbers show Boston is a soccer town<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawyers for three-time Olympian David Hearn say the charge is an abuse of prosecutorial power. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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