A former US Olympian has been arrested for allegedly vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool – after he reached in to touch a piece of the failing blue sealant that is peeling off the basin. David “Davey” Hearn, 67, a champion canoeist who competed in three Olympic Games, was detained by US Park Police on Friday as he finished a long bike ride. “I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told The Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, is now facing a misdemeanour charge of destruction of government property. The incident came the same day that President Donald Trump alleged vandals had “done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed” to “destroy and demean our beautiful work”. Trump, who ordered the pool renovated ahead of America’s 250th birthday celebrations, said in a Truth Social post that US Park Police had arrested “multiple individuals” and threatened “years in jail!”
“Former US Olympian Davey Hearn arrested for touching peeling paint at Reflecting Pool, denies vandalism, charged with destruction of government property.”
The historic Reflecting Pool, stretching 2,030ft between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, has long been beset by leaks, algae, and structural problems. It underwent a multi-million dollar resealing and painting project, but within days the new “American flag blue” paint began peeling off. The cost has reached nearly $14.7m.
Hearn told BBC News he removed his cycling glove to touch a long strip of rubbery material that had “delaminated” from the bottom of the pool. “I didn’t destroy, rip, tear, peel, or remove any part,” he insisted. “The condition of any part of the reflecting pool didn’t change. It wasn’t affected. It was the same before I got there as when I walked away from it.” He called his arrest an “arbitrary, capricious prosecution.”
A video posted by conservative journalist Emily Miller shows Hearn standing near a water-pumping hose before being approached by two National Guard troops and later handcuffed. Miller wrote that Hearn allegedly grabbed the hose, but Hearn denied this, saying his bike tyre may have accidentally moved it.
Hearn, a two-time whitewater racing world champion, said he was held for nearly five hours at a Park Police facility and released shortly after 9pm Friday, after which he rode his bike home. He is due to appear in court on July 9.