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Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn, who has been charged with the felony level crime of destroying federal property after he reached his hand into the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, will not be barred from visiting the monument while the trial commences, the judge overseeing the case has ruled.
Hearn stands accused of causing more than $1,000 in damages at the reflecting pool. During his arraignment hearing on Thursday, Hearn, a three-time Olympian, pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Hearn maintains that, while on a long-distance bike ride from his home around the D.C. area last month, he stopped at the reflecting pool to see for himself the damages that had occurred. He claims he reached his hand into the pool and touched a piece of paint that had already been stripped off the concrete to see how it felt.
“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said at the time, adding that the paint felt “very rubbery.”
The reflecting pool was drained earlier this year, with a coat of blue paint added to the bottom by the Trump administration, ostensibly to make it reflect more during the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. While President Donald Trump frequently boasted about the new paint job, algae began to grow, making the pool a distinctive green color instead.
The administration then hired contractors to clean the algae using hydrogen peroxide, a chemical known to strip away paint. When pieces of the blue paint began to come off the bottom, the president denied it had anything to do with his actions, instead blaming supposed “vandalism” without providing proof.
It was under that context that Hearn was arrested and charged with destruction of property. Outside of his arraignment last week, supporters could be heard chanting “let him go” and other words of support for Hearn.
Prosecutors sought to have Hearn forbidden from being able to visit the reflecting pool while the case continued, stating that they had “a lot of discovery” evidence in support of their demands. But Judge Carmen McLean — a Trump appointee — denied that request, imposing no restrictions on Hearn in the meantime.
One of Hearn’s lawyers, Norm Eisen, decried the administration’s actions, stating earlier this month that the Trump administration was using his client as a “scapegoat” to conceal its own mistakes.
“If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk, and every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,” Eisen said.
“It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool,” Eisen added.
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