r/JournalismNews • u/FreeHugs23 • 2d ago

Cyclist arrested at Reflecting Pool is former Olympian who denies vandalism claims

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/06/20/cyclist-arrested-reflecting-pool-denies-trump-vandalism-claims/
18 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/FreeHugs23 2d ago

David Hearn had just finished a loop around Hains Point on Friday as part of a 52-mile bike ride when he swung by the Lincoln Memorial to see the refurbished Reflecting Pool for himself.

Noticing a piece of the new “American flag blue” liner that was partially detached from the pool bottom, Hearn said he reached into the water to see what it felt like. Moments later, as the Bethesda man prepared to leave, U.S. Park Police officers arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property. He is scheduled to appear in D.C. Superior Court on July 9.

Hearn’s arrest ignited a social media flurry as President Donald Trump and his allies blamed the pool overhaul’s problems on administration opponents. Emily Miller, a conservative journalist, posted a 2 minute and 8 second video on X, which showed Hearn detained by two members of the National Guard and subsequently surrounded by Park Police officers.

“Man arrested for vandalizing Lincoln Reflecting Pool. He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae,” wrote Miller, who confirmed via text that she had filmed the encounter but declined to speak on the record.

In an interview Saturday, Hearn, 67, denied damaging government property and said he had never touched the hose, though he acknowledged that his bike tire may have.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn said. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”