WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A former Olympian was indicted Thursday on a felony charge in what President Donald Trump has of the Reflecting Pool.
David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, was indicted on a single count of property destruction in Washington, D.C. court.
District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Hearn ripped up recently installed sealant on pool in 鈥渁 deliberate act鈥� that caused more than $1,000 in damage. She accused him of 鈥渇orcefully and violently鈥� pulling up bottom liner 鈥渨ith both hands鈥� and acting belligerent toward an employee who told him to stop.
鈥淭his is a case with tremendous evidence,鈥� she said, adding that authorities have made about six other misdemeanors arrests.
Hearn didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
He previously told The Associated Press that he reached into the pool June 19 to examine the newly peeled coating. He said he briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to.
Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, owned a company that made composite materials used to build watercraft. He said he stopped by the pool during a 64-mile bike ride.
He said he was detained by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released.
Trump said earlier this month that federal authorities made 鈥渕ultiple arrests鈥� of people he accused vandalizing the Reflecting Pool as he struggled to explain why the rehabilitation project he launched for the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary seemingly backfired.
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