President Vows Swift Repairs After Lincoln Memorial Pool Incident
A weekend of alleged vandalism at the newly restored Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has led to multiple arrests and a firm commitment from President Donald Trump to expedite repairs. Security has been visibly increased at the National Mall following the incidents.
Video footage captured and shared on social media platform X by journalist Emily Miller on Friday depicted a man in distinctive lime-green athletic wear interacting with a National Guardsman before being taken into custody by U.S. Park Police. This individual was later identified as David Hearn, 67, a former Olympian who competed in cycling three times. He faces a misdemeanor charge for destruction of government property.
Hearn’s Account of the Incident
Hearn reportedly stated that he had just completed a 52-mile bicycle ride when he noticed what appeared to be a detached section of the pool’s new liner. According to his account, he reached into the water to examine it. Miller’s post suggested Hearn had grabbed a hose being used by National Park Service staff for algae remediation. However, Hearn indicated to reporters that his bicycle tire might have been the only part of his equipment to contact the hose, asserting, “I didn’t vandalize anything.”
He further clarified, “I didn’t destroy, break, or peel anything. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already being handcuffed.” Hearn has a prior, though dismissed, arrest from 1996 for canoeing on the Potomac River.
Broader Security Concerns and Presidential Response
Miller also reported on Saturday that a total of seven individuals were detained on Friday for entering the pool, prompting a significant surge in security measures at the site.
President Trump addressed the events on Saturday afternoon via a social media post, confirming that Park Police had apprehended “multiple” individuals accused of defacing “our Nation’s magnificent Reflecting Pool.” He questioned the motive behind such actions, labeling them “very serious crimes” related to the destruction of national monuments and warning of potential lengthy prison sentences. The president pledged that repair work would commence immediately.
The incidents occur as the administration faces scrutiny over the condition of the Reflecting Pool, which had recently undergone an $14.8 million restoration project. Reports of peeling paint and algae growth surfaced just weeks after the project’s completion.
Official requests for comment from the White House and U.S. Park Police were pending at the time of reporting.
