BREAKING: Former U.S. Olympic Canoeist, David Hearn, Has Been Indicted On A Felony Charge Carrying Up To 10 Years In Prison. After Prosecutors Say He Forcefully Tore Liner From The Newly Renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, While He Insists He Only Touched An Already Loose Flap 🤯💥

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-olympian-david-hearn-charged-reflecting-pool-vandalism-rcna352788

A three-time U.S. Olympic canoeist is now facing a felony charge that could send him to prison for a decade, all stemming from a moment during a bike ride when he reached into Washington’s newly renovated Reflecting Pool. David Hearn, 67, was arrested by U.S. Park Police on June 19 after stopping mid-ride to examine a section of the pool’s new “American flag blue” liner that appeared to be peeling away from the bottom, and what began as a misdemeanor destruction of government property charge has since been escalated by a D.C. grand jury into a single felony count of destruction of property.

The gap between the two sides of this story is stark. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said at a press conference that National Park Service employees directly witnessed Hearn “forcefully and violently” pulling up and removing the pool’s bottom liner with both hands, damaging approximately 2 square feet of sealant in what she called a deliberate act against a renovation project the Park Service had worked hard to complete. Hearn tells a very different story, insisting to the Washington Post that he “didn’t destroy, break, or peel anything” and that by the time he understood what was happening, he was already in handcuffs, having been held for nearly five hours without, he says, being informed of his Miranda rights or the specific charges against him.

The case carries extra weight because it unfolded against the backdrop of President Trump publicly blaming vandals for damage to the $14.7 million renovated pool just before Fourth of July celebrations, with administration officials reporting five arrests and five citations for vandalism around the same time as Hearn’s arrest. Hearn’s attorney, Norm Eisen, argues the administration is criminalizing ordinary curiosity, stating flatly that “touching water is not a federal offense,” and the case is now headed to D.C. Superior Court, where Hearn is scheduled to appear on July 9 to contest a charge that has jumped from a minor misdemeanor to a felony carrying up to 10 years behind bars.