{"id":15795,"date":"2026-07-09T16:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=15795"},"modified":"2026-07-09T16:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:42:53","slug":"former-us-olympian-david-hearn-pleads-not-guilty-to-reflecting-pool-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=15795","title":{"rendered":"Former US Olympian David Hearn pleads not guilty to reflecting pool damage"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n

Hearn, 67, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court.<\/p>\n

Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he awaits trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.<\/p>\n

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David Hearn of the United States competes in the men’s C1 whitewater canoeing final of the 2000 Summer Olympics at Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Penrith, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2000.<\/span> (David Madison\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hearn was indicted last week on a felony destruction of property charge following his arrest in connection with the June 19 incident. Hearn denied damaging the pool, saying he stopped on a bike ride and touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen.”<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Kevin Reddington said the government wasn\u2019t seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order,” without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.<\/p>\n

Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn\u2019s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding citizen and member of the community.”<\/p>\n

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David Hearn of the United States competes in the men’s C1 whitewater canoeing final of the 2000 Summer Olympics at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Penrith, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2000.<\/span> (David Madison\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dohrmann also said “the government\u2019s evidence is weak.”<\/p>\n

The Reflecting Pool recently underwent a $14 million rehabilitation project under President Trump. Hearn\u2019s indictment came after several people were arrested or cited for allegedly damaging the reflecting pool.<\/p>\n

Video of Hearn\u2019s arrest went viral on X after it was captured by journalist Emily Miller. Miller accused the former Olympian of grabbing a hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear algae.<\/p>\n

Hearn denied the accusation but admitted his bike tire might have hit the hose.<\/p>\n

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“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.”<\/p>\n

Records show that Hearn has ties to a major left-wing fundraising network.<\/p>\n

Hearn represented the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr, Jackson Thompson, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n