Former U.S. Olympian arrested in connection with alleged Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism
OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
2:31 PM – Saturday, June 20, 2026
A former Team USA Olympian has been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after the completion of President Donald Trump’s renovation.
David Hearn, 67, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property on Friday in Washington, D.C.
The three-time Olympic canoeist was cycling near the monument when he said he stopped and noticed a piece of the pool’s new liner floating in the water. He told The Washington Post that he reached out and touched the piece before Park Police took him into custody.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn said. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
The cyclist also denied touching the hose used by government workers, but acknowledged his bike might have.
Trump had been renovating the reflecting pool, which he called “filthy dirty,” for weeks. A former real estate developer, he determined to seal the bottom with a compound used for swimming pools and paint it “American Flag Blue,” rather than remove all the stones at the bottom for an expensive and lengthy overhaul.
Since the president revealed the new blue pool, workers have often been spotted trying to remove persistent green algae from its water.
In a Truth Social Post on Friday, Trump acknowledged the hurdles facing the restoration efforts for the pool, which is part of a broader initiative by his administration to clean up and beautify the capital. He also said that the monument had been vandalized in the days after it was completed.
“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, D.C. Things are really looking good in our Nation’s Capital, and add to that the fact that when I became President, Crime was rampant, and now, Washington, D.C., is one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the United States,” the president wrote.
“However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial,” he continued. “Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed. No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work.”
Trump referenced the recent vandalism of the National Mall, which was inscribed with the numbers “8647.” The message is viewed as a code for eliminating President Trump — “86” meaning to get rid of or cancel something, and Trump being the 47th president.
“The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week,” he affirmed. “It’s a shame that the Radical Left Lunatics, most likely Dumocats, who have spent their lives trying to ruin our Country, are free to do so. Law Enforcement is actively investigating this situation, and will hopefully have it resolved soon.”
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