U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn was indicted on one count of destruction of property after he was accused of causing more than $1,000 worth of damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“A parks employee actually told Hearn to stop, to stop his behavior and stop what he was doing,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. “Hearn reacted by shouting at the park’s employee, saying that she cared too much about the Reflecting Pool, and why did she even care, since it wasn’t her pool.”
“There was an effort, a violent effort, to rip up the sealant from the bottom of the pool. And irrespective of whether or not, you know, we think that, you know, there is some situation that preceded it. We can state and prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he caused damage, and that damage is over $1,000,” Pirro declared, adding that authorities believe “it was his bare hands, both hands,” that caused the damage.
“Davey Hearn is innocent. These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American. This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures,” Hearn’s legal team, Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, and Mary Dohrmann, Senior Counsel at Washington Litigation Group, said in a statement to NBC News. “On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative. The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”
Six people were arrested last month in relation to the situation.
U.S. Park Police released surveillance footage from a June 19 incident, asking the public to help identify a suspect captured on camera. The footage was posted to the agency’s official social media account alongside a request for tips in connection with a “Destruction of Government Property investigation.”
