Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case Witness Drops New Details That Could Change The Trial

A new witness in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool prosecution could end up turning the case on its head.

Former Olympian and canoeist David Hearn is one of the handful of defendants in the pending case. He was indicted and accused of damaging the reflecting pool’s liner in July and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Jeanine Pirro heads the U.S. attorney’s office for Washington and is seeking more than $1000 in damages from Hearn.

According to NBC News, the athlete’s representation has filed a new court filing arguing that the pool already sustained damage and would have required repairs.

“Substantial preexisting damage”

Hearn argued, “The condition of the Reflecting Pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there.” In addition, a new witness (who has not been identified) testified that the pool was already damaged before Hearn arrived and estimated a repair cost of between $6,000 and $15,000.

This testimony, as per Hearn’s lawyers, “established that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by Mr. Hearn.” They added, “Simply put, the government’s witness could not identify any additional cost caused by Mr. Hearn’s alleged conduct. Indeed, the witness did not even say or suggest that the alleged conduct had compromised the liner at all.”

Hearn’s attorneys explained, “The Government’s only witness on that element testified that the property was already deteriorated, that the identified repairs would have been needed even without Mr. Hearn’s alleged conduct, and that he could not quantify any loss caused by that conduct.”

“Consequently, the grand jury’s indictment of Mr. Hearn is hard to explain,” they added. “Mr. Hearn needs to learn whether the grand jury was properly instructed that the charge required him to have caused over $1,000 in damages, when the testimony failed to establish that he caused any damage at all. So does this Court.” 

In the aftermath of the media attention, the White House issued a statement attributing the increase in fencing and safety protocols to a continuation of previous policies around summer celebrations. In addition, they argued that the vandalism was perpetrated by “leftists.”

“As in years prior, one of the launch pads for the fireworks is around the pool. So, fencing is put up to ensure public safety,” a spokesperson for the department previously said. “With the increase in vandalism by leftist activists, the fencing is going up earlier than originally planned to ensure no more damage is done to this historic site.” It will now be up to a jury to decide if Hearn is guilty.

(Photo Credit: Image by G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.)

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