A person cited in the David Hearn case says the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had already sustained damage before the former Olympian is accused of making contact with it.
David Hearn, a former US Olympian, was indicted by a grand jury on July 2 after his arrest in Washington, D.C., last month over claims that he damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hearn has denied doing any harm, maintaining that he did not “rip, tear, destruct, destroy, or harm in any way, any part of the reflecting pool”.
That argument appeared in fresh court documents made public on Monday, July 27.
Prosecutors allege the damage topped $1,000, the level required for a charge of ‘felony malicious destruction of a property’.
The filing comes as the case enters a key pretrial phase. Hearn pleaded not guilty earlier this month, and his lawyers have separately asked a judge to dismiss the indictment and to force prosecutors to turn over the grand jury materials they say could show how the case was presented to jurors.
According to the filings, the defense argues that the work needed on the pool was unrelated to Hearn’s alleged actions, stating that the ‘same repairs would have been required regardless of Hearn’s conduct’ and that ‘he could not quantify any loss attributable to that conduct’.
“The witness’s testimony established that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by David Hearn,” his lawyers said.
“That testimony raises a substantial question whether the grand jury had legally sufficent evidence of the loss element necessary to support the indictment and whether the grand jury was properly instructed on the element,” the filings read.
The defense has also requested access to the grand jury’s ‘instructions and proceedings’ so it can assess whether jurors were ‘correctly instructed on causation and loss’.
In the broader dispute, the condition of the Reflecting Pool has become part of a larger fight over a multimillion-dollar renovation project completed ahead of the 250th anniversary celebrations. Officials had previously said the pool would need repairs after the water was drained, and the case has drawn attention because of the contrast between the government’s allegation of deliberate vandalism and the defense’s argument that the pool had already been compromised.
Hearn earlier told NBC News that ‘the condition of the Reflecting Pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there’.
In a statement given to PEOPLE last month, Hearn’s lawyers said: “If he 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.”
They further alleged that officials were attempting to ‘scapegoat’ Hearn and “shift blame for their own failures.”
The accusations surfaced after Trump’s $16 million refurbishment of the pool ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
As part of that project, the pool was painted ‘American flag blue’, but it later drew international attention when algae turned the water green.
On June 19, Hearn stopped by the site and looked at the pool. He then placed his hand in the water and touched part of the blue liner, which he says had already started peeling.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” he told The Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
Speaking about ‘vandals’ on July 14, the president wrote on Truth Social: “We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago.
“We wanted to wait until after the July 4th Weekend. The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs.
“The Parks Department had to empty the water in order to fix the water tight basin. It will be refilled and put back into service soon. These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT.”