Trump alleges NPS employee saw former Olympian ‘violently’ rip Reflecting Pool lining
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the dismissed case involving alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, August 9, stating that a National Park Service (NPS) employee’s account that former Olympian David Hearn “violently” pulled at the pool’s coating.
Trump shared excerpts from court documents on Truth Social and argued that the account supports his contention that at least some of the damage was deliberate. The post came days after Trump urged US Attorney Jeanine Pirro to revisit the case following the government’s decision to dismiss the felony charge against Hearn.
Trump points to NPS employee’s account of alleged vandalism
Trump’s post focused on interviews with two National Park Service employees who were cleaning the interior of the Reflecting Pool when Hearn approached the area on June 19. According to the court document shared by Trump, one employee, identified as W-1, said Hearn initially appeared to use his cellphone to photograph or record damage to the pool.
The employee then alleged that Hearn “knelt, placed both hands into the reflecting pool, below the surface of the water, and started to ‘violently’ rip and tug at a large portion of the blue pool coating.”
According to the filing, W-1 asked another NPS employee to contact police and told Hearn not to touch or pull at the coating. Hearn allegedly responded that NPS personnel were “awfully sensitive about the pool” and continued pulling at the coating until National Guard soldiers arrived.
Trump cited the account in his post, arguing that the damage could not be attributed solely to construction problems. “A National Park Service career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn (ActBlue) in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by ‘violently’ ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating,” he wrote.
Trump also alleged that other incidents occurred around the Reflecting Pool, including the use of an “acid like material” on newly installed grass beside the pool, where the markings “86 47” were allegedly written.
The 80-year-old also acknowledged that contractors were responsible for some problems at the site, saying there was “some contractor error” as crews worked to complete the renovation before July 4. “We are working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly,” Trump said.
Prosecutors cite faulty construction in seeking dismissal of David Hearn case
Hearn was indicted July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property after US Park Police alleged that he grabbed and pulled at a loose section of the pool coating and continued after being told to stop by an NPS employee.
Pirro’s office later moved to dismiss the case after receiving additional documents from the Department of the Interior. Prosecutors said they had initially received only “barebones” reports and were not provided records documenting broader problems with the installation of the pool’s coating.
The additional material indicated that some of the Reflecting Pool damage was connected to flawed construction work, as well as efforts to push the project completion before the Fourth of July events.
“Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” prosecutors wrote in seeking dismissal.
