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An Olympic canoeist has been accused of vandalizing the iconic Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
David Hearn, 67, who represented the United States in three Summer Olympics, denied the accusations that he vandalized the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after being arrested by the U.S. Park Police on Saturday.
Hearn told The Associated Press that he only reached into the pool because he wanted to examine the peeling new coating, and he only briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to.
“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn told the outlet. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”
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Now, he has a date to appear in court next month.
Hearn was previously arrested by the U.S. Park Police nearly 30 years ago, and ended up beating the charges.
How did he get to this point?
He comes from a family of US canoeing royalty
Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn was arrested after allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. (David Madison/Getty Images, File)
His father, Carter Hearn, was a geologist and expert canoeist who continued to paddle treacherous whitewater well into his late 60s, per his website Davey Hearn.
His older sister Cathy is a two-time Olympian in women’s kayak and in 1979 won an unprecedented three gold medals at the World Championships, and she is a member of the 2001 World Championship Team.
His brother, Bill, was also a United States Canoe and Kayak National Team (USACK) member.
Meanwhile, his wife Jennifer was also a member of the USACK Women’s National Slalom Team and served as David’s paddling coach from 1996 to 2001. She started out as assistant slalom team manager at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona while she was still competing, then in 1996 she decided to focus mainly on helping David’s paddling career and became his full-time coach.
He says he carried the Olympic torch through Washington, DC
Hearn’s website claims he was an Olympic torch bearer for the last Summer Olympics that was based in the U.S. — the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Hearn was among 23 canoe/kayak athletes who participated in the nationwide Olympic Torch Relay, and Hearn was chosen to carry the torch into Washington, D.C.
“It was an incredible honor to be a torch bearer for the Olympics in my own state,” reads a quote from him on the website.
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A storybook career
Hearn repeatedly had to settle for silver behind his own training partner, Jon Lugbill, in the World Championships. Hearn took second to Lugbill at the event in 1979, 1981 and 1983 before finally breaking through to capture his first individual World Championship gold in 1985.
But after that, the fierce rivalry continued, with Hearn taking silver behind Lugbill twice more in 1987 and 1989. But Hearn refused to fade away.
A full decade after his first individual title, in 1995, a 36-year-old Hearn defied the odds and reclaimed the C-1 World Championship gold. His teammates then famously hoisted him into the air, carrying him on their shoulders, all while he was still sitting inside his canoe.
Following his 1995 triumph, Hearn was named the USA Canoe/Kayak Male Athlete of the Year. He represented the United States in three consecutive Summer Olympics: 1992, 1996 and 2000.
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A history with the Park Police
Hearn’s arrest this week was not his first, as his history with the U.S. Park Police goes back nearly three decades, according to a 1996 Washington Post article.
That year, the Potomac River turned violent, as intense, heavy rains pushed the water to a terrifying, near-record flood level of 60,000 cubic feet per second.
Authorities immediately issued an emergency river closure. Where the government saw a deadly hazard, the Olympian saw an irresistible, surging playground.
Hearn took his whitewater canoe straight into the raging rapids.
U.S. Park Police officers quickly spotted him from the shore. They shouted over the roaring water, ordering the Olympian to paddle over to the riverbank.
The moment Hearn’s boat touched the federally-controlled shore, officers swooped in and arrested him.
He was charged with failing to obey a lawful order. But Hearn fought the case in court — and won on a stunning technicality.
A federal judge completely tossed the charges out. The judge ruled that the Potomac River itself is controlled by the state of Maryland, meaning the federal Park Police had zero jurisdiction over the water.
Furthermore, because the police had ordered Hearn to paddle over to the federal riverbank, they couldn’t legally penalize him for being there.
But now almost 30 years later, Hearn’s curiosity and his old rivals at the Park Police would collide once again.
His latest viral arrest
Hearn was finishing up a grueling 52-mile bike ride when he swung by the Reflecting Pool this week.
Paint peels from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. (REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon)
Hearn reached down into the water. He insists he didn’t pull or tear anything. But it didn’t matter.
Moments later, the 67-year-old was surrounded by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police officers.
Journalist Emily Miller happened to be there. She filmed a two-minute video of Hearn being detained, which quickly went viral on X.
Miller accused Hearn of grabbing a hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae. Hearn denied the accusation, though he admitted his bike tire might have bumped it.
“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.”
Hearn was slapped with a misdemeanor charge for destruction of government property.
In a statement on Truth Social Saturday night, Trump announced “many additional people” have been arrested after suspects “took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250-foot-long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete.”
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The president also alleged suspects “poured corrosive and destructive chemicals” into the basin.
“It hasn’t looked or worked like this since 1922, when it was originally built, but even then, it leaked badly, and didn’t work,” Trump wrote in the post. “Ours worked perfectly, including the mirror like finish, perfectly reflecting the two Great Monuments, which it never had before! What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to an email address on Hearn’s website for comment.