In brief
Former American canoeist David Hearn was charged with vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, after police saw him tampering with the freshly installed sealant. Hearn, 67, says he only touched the damaged area out of curiosity. Authorities estimate the damage at Â$1,000 and the incident follows a $14m renovation that faced early algae problems. President Donald Trump and US Park Police condemned the act, calling it an affront to a national landmark. Hearn now faces a felony destruction‑of‑property charge.
David “Davey” Hearn, 67, a three‑time Olympic canoeist, was arrested on June 19 after police spotted him near the bottom of the freshly renovated Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial.
Just minutes after completing a long bike ride, officers detained Hearn on the pool’s edge, saying he had reached into the water and likely ripped a piece of the new sealant.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated at a press briefing that the damage exceeded $1,000 and that Hearn will face a felony charge of property destruction. Pirro described the act as a deliberate attack on a national park asset that “members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore.”
The Reflecting Pool, restored at a cost of $14 million and re‑filled in May, has already suffered leaks and alien algae growth, but the peeling of new sealant was not anticipated. Hearn said he “didn’t destroy, rip, tear, peel, or remove any part” of the paint and called the arrest “arbitrary, capricious prosecution.”
In a related move, US Park Police reported that five individuals had already been arrested for vandalism at the pool; five others received federal citations. President Donald Trump posted on social media on June 20 that work would begin “immediately” to fix the “seriously vandalised Reflecting Pool,” denouncing the perpetrators as “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE.”
The new renovation, completed in early 2026, aimed to address the long‑standing problems of leaks, faulty pipes, algae, and bird droppings that have plagued the 20,030‑ft stretch of water between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
