David Hearn, Three-Time Olympian, Indicted For Allegedly Damaging The Reflecting Pool

David Hearn, a 67-year-old three-time U.S. Olympic canoeist from Maryland, was indicted Thursday on a single felony count of destruction of property for allegedly pulling up sealant from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 19.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. He has denied doing any damage and says he will fight the indictment.

The Reflecting Pool was renovated by the Trump administration for $14.65 million and painted "American flag blue" ahead of Independence Day.

Shortly after it reopened in mid-June, visitors and the internet noticed widespread algae blooms and peeling sealant.

President Trump blamed vandals and directed prosecutors to pursue charges. Hearn was among several people arrested or cited in connection with the pool. His is the first felony indictment.

Hearn says he was on a bike ride when he stopped at the pool out of curiosity, he has a background in materials science.

He says he reached into the water and touched a piece of sealant that was already partially detached but did not remove or destroy anything.

He was then handcuffed, detained for five hours and, he says, never read his Miranda rights.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters Thursday that witnesses saw Hearn "forcefully and violently pulling up" the liner with both hands and that a National Park Service employee told him to stop before he allegedly yelled at the employee.

She said prosecutors will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he damaged approximately two square feet of sealant worth more than $1,000.

"Davey Hearn is innocent," his attorneys Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann said in a statement. "These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American.

This indictment reflects the administration's effort to shift blame for their own failures." Hearn's court date is July 9.