Trump vows jail time as former Olympian among others charged with vandalizing Reflecting Pool

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump vowed jail time as multiple people were arrested this week after allegedly vandalizing the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Among those arrested was David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist, who said authorities arrested him and held him for five hours on Friday after he reached down into the pool.

The 67-year-old canoeist revealed to The Washington Post 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."

When Hearn was preparing to leave, he was arrested by the US Park Police officers on a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property.

David Hearn maintains he ‘didn't vandalize anything’

Hearn claimed the ordeal lasted nearly five hours, with authorities keeping him at a Park Police facility until his release around 9 p.m. 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 newspaper.

Hearn, who owned a company that provided materials to build watercraft, said his interest in the pool stemmed from scientific curiosity.

He told The Associated Press he wanted to examine the peeling new coating on the bottom of the pool, which was painted "American Flag Blue” as part of its more than $14 million renovation.

Emily Miller, a Washington, DC-based journalist who has been covering the reflecting pool since the renovation work started, shared just over two minutes of footage of Hearn's arrest, claiming that he “grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae.”

However, Herman clarified that he had not touched the cleaning hose as Miller described, but acknowledged that his bicycle may have come in contact with it.

Trump vows ‘years in jail!’

The President addressed the recent arrests in a Truth Social post on Saturday, confirming that the Park Police arrested "multiple" people for vandalizing "our Nation's magnificent Reflecting Poll."

"Who would do such a thing?" the president wrote in the post. "These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair."

Trump on Friday pointed to ongoing vandalism concerns at the Reflecting Pool, saying Park Police had encountered “real problems,” while the administration remains under scrutiny for paint peeling and algae growth following the site's $14.8 million renovation.

"We've had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial," Trump wrote on the social media platform.

“Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they've also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed,” he continued, seemingly referring to the huge “8647” found etched into the grass at the National Mall.

“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” he continued.