'Not a crime to touch water': Attorney defends Olympian accused in Reflecting Pool case
WASHINGTON, DC: Days after former Olympian David Hearn was arrested, along with several others, for allegedly damaging the newly revamped Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, his attorney said touching water is not a crime.
The former US Olympian, who was briefly arrested on misdemeanor charges, said he was “never read” his Miranda rights after his arrest and plans to fight the charges against him.
Attorney challenges citations in Reflecting Pool damage case
After the 67-year-old former Olympian denied the allegation of damaging the Reflecting Pool by reaching into the water, his attorney argued that federal authorities have no legal basis for the two misdemeanor citations issued after his arrest.
“There’s no basis for this. We’re going to contest it vigorously,” said Hearn’s attorney, Norm Eisen, who sat alongside him in an interview on MS NOW. “It’s not a federal crime to touch water.”
President Donald Trump vowed jail time as multiple people were arrested this week after allegedly vandalizing the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The Reflecting Pool has come under scrutiny after an algae bloom and peeling paint were discovered shortly after its multimillion-dollar renovation was completed earlier this month.
David Hearn maintains he didn't damage anything
The 67-year-old canoeist revealed that he had just finished a 52-mile bike ride when he noticed a "partially detached piece" of the new pool liner and "reached into the water to see what it felt like."
Hearn was preparing to leave the site when he was arrested. He said he was unable to communicate with anyone after being arrested by the US Park Police.
“I didn’t know how long I was going to be held,” Hearn said during the interview. “I had not been allowed to make a phone call. Nobody really knew I was there. I was held incommunicado the whole time.”
Hayes: Am I right that you were detained for five hours during after this arrest?
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 23, 2026
Hearn: Yes. I was in the lockup. I was photographed and they put me back in, fingerprinted, put me back in, and I had not been able to allow to make a phone call. No, nobody really knew I was… pic.twitter.com/JOHQG92NEN
Hearn claimed the ordeal lasted nearly five hours, with authorities keeping him at a Park Police facility until his release around 9 pm local time.
However, he maintained that he “didn't vandalize anything.”
“I didn't destroy, break, or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs,” he told The Washington Post.
