Former Olympic canoeist indicted for damaging DC's Reflecting Pool

A former US Olympic canoeist has been criminally indicted for reaching into Washington's Reflecting Pool, prosecutors said. He faces charges of damaging the pool's floor material, which he denied, saying he was only checking on the pool's condition.

David Hearn, a three-time Olympian and former member of the US canoe national team, was indicted in US District Court for the District of Columbia on vandalism charges, according to AP and other outlets Wednesday.

US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Hearn deliberately tore up recently installed material from the Reflecting Pool's floor, causing roughly $1,000 in damage. Pirro said Hearn ripped out the floor material "forcibly and violently" with "both hands" and was hostile toward a staff member who tried to stop him. "The evidence in this case is very strong," she added.

President Donald Trump had spent $14 million to resurface the Reflecting Pool's concrete floor with blue waterproof material as part of a renovation tied to the nation's 250th anniversary. But after the work was completed last month and the pool was refilled, algae bloomed across the water and the blue floor material began peeling away, sparking a controversy over the quality of the construction.

Hearn was arrested and later released after he reached into the pool on June 19 and touched a section of the blue material that had partially come loose from the floor. He denied damaging the pool, saying he had been riding his bicycle when he grew curious about the pool's condition and decided to take a look.

Trump, however, wrote on his Truth Social platform that "many people have been arrested" in connection with "the disgraceful vandalism of our beautiful Reflecting Pool."