David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist who was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool last month, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony charge of destruction of property worth more than $1,000.
Mr. Hearn, 67, was one of at least four people who were arrested in June after the police said they peeled paint off the floor of the reflecting pool, which recently underwent a costly renovation project that has faced numerous problems. Mr. Hearn previously said he had visited the pool simply to take a look at it and, out of curiosity, reached down to touch a strip of peeling blue paint.
President Trump has blamed vandals for the problems at the pool, including green algae and the peeling liner. He has said that vandals poured fertilizer into the water to nurture the algae and slashed the blue coating on the pool’s bottom, but he has not cited any evidence to support that claim, and Mr. Hearn has not been accused of either of those things.
“These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American,” Mr. Hearn’s lawyers, Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann, previously said in a statement. “Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen.”
Mr. Hearn, who did not speak during the arraignment aside from giving his name, was released on Thursday without bail and was ordered to reappear in court on Aug. 5. Prosecutors asked the judge to order that Mr. Hearn stay away from the reflecting pool, but she declined to do.
“Mr. Hearn is 67 years old and an upstanding citizen and member of the community,” Ms. Dohrmann said, adding that “he’s a three-time Olympian who regularly represents the United States in athletic competitions across the globe.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
