SouthernWorldwide.com – Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn has been indicted on a felony destruction of property charge following his arrest last month at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
The indictment was handed down by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Hearn was formally charged on Thursday in D.C. Superior Court in connection with the incident that occurred on June 19.
Hearn has maintained his innocence, denying any involvement in damaging the recently renovated Reflecting Pool. He stated that he had stopped during a bike ride and only touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating out of curiosity as a citizen.
This indictment comes amidst several other arrests and citations issued for alleged damage to the Reflecting Pool. The pool recently underwent a significant rehabilitation project costing over $14 million under the administration of President Donald Trump.
President Trump had previously attributed the damage to vandals, referring to the pool’s blue coating as “American flag blue.”
Hearn’s attorney has issued a statement strongly refuting the charges. The attorney declared Hearn innocent and called the charges outrageous, suggesting they are an attempt by the administration to deflect blame for their own shortcomings.
The statement further criticized the indictment as a misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen, based on a fabricated narrative. It emphasized that the justice system should focus on determining facts rather than providing political cover.
Hearn’s arrest gained significant attention after being captured on video by journalist Emily Miller. A two-minute video of his detention quickly went viral on the social media platform X.
Miller had accused Hearn of interfering with female National Park Service workers who were using a hose to clear algae from the pool. Hearn denied this accusation, though he acknowledged that his bicycle tire might have made contact with the hose.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told The Washington Post. “By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
This is not the first time Hearn has had a run-in with the law. He was arrested by U.S. Park Police nearly 30 years ago, in 1996, for charges that he ultimately beat.
At that time, the Potomac River was experiencing a severe flood due to intense rainfall, reaching a near-record level of 60,000 cubic feet per second. Authorities had issued an emergency closure of the river.
Despite the closure, Hearn entered the raging rapids in his whitewater canoe, leading to his arrest by officers. He was initially charged with failing to obey a lawful order.
However, Hearn contested the case in court and was successful on a technicality. A federal judge dismissed the charges, ruling that the Potomac River falls under the jurisdiction of the state of Maryland, meaning the federal Park Police lacked authority over the waterway.
Hearn has a distinguished athletic career, having represented the United States in three Summer Olympics as a canoeist. He also had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch through Washington, D.C., for the 1996 Atlanta Games.
“It was an incredible honor to be a torch-bearer for the Olympics in my own state,” according to his website, Davey Hearn.
His older sister, Cathy Hearn, is also a prominent figure in the sport, having competed in two Olympics in women’s kayaking. In 1979, she achieved an unprecedented feat by winning three gold medals at the World Championships, and she was also part of the 2001 World Championship Team.
