Today (July 2), a grand jury indicted former US Olympian David Hearn after he was arrested last month in Washington, DC, on allegations of causing damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
President Trump allocated a significant $16 million for the Reflecting Pool’s renovation as part of his initiative to enhance Washington, DC, in preparation for America’s 250th anniversary.
The pool’s base was painted ‘American flag blue’, but shortly after the renovation was completed, algae began to turn the water green, and the paint started peeling off.
The president expressed his outrage on Truth Social, stating: “Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail.”
Hearn maintains his innocence, asserting in a statement that he did not ‘rip, tear, destruct, destroy, or harm in any way, any part of the reflecting pool’.
The grand jury, however, disagreed, indicting the 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist in DC Superior Court on felony charges.
Video of the arrest depicts the athlete standing beside the Reflecting Pool with his bicycle before being approached by two National Guard soldiers.
In a response to the Daily Mail, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers commented on Hearn’s assertions, writing: “It is despicable that after attempting to vandalize a national monument, this deranged individual is suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
This is a breaking story…more to follow.