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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hearn, 67, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court.
Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he awaits trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.
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Hearn was indicted last week on a felony destruction of property charge following his arrest in connection with the June 19 incident. Hearn denied damaging the pool, saying he stopped on a bike ride and touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen.”
Prosecutor Kevin Reddington said the government wasn’t seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order,” without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.
Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn’s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding citizen and member of the community.”
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Dohrmann also said “the government’s evidence is weak.”
The Reflecting Pool recently underwent a $14 million rehabilitation project under President Trump. Hearn’s indictment came after several people were arrested or cited for allegedly damaging the reflecting pool.
Video of Hearn’s arrest went viral on X after it was captured by journalist Emily Miller. Miller accused the former Olympian of grabbing a hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear algae.
Hearn denied the accusation but admitted his bike tire might have hit the hose.
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“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told The Washington Post. “By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
Records show that Hearn has ties to a major left-wing fundraising network.
Hearn represented the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr, Jackson Thompson, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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