US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced on Thursday that David Hearn was indicted on felony charges of destruction of property in connection with the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial.
A Washington DC grand jury secured the indictment.
The US Olympic canoeist faces up to ten years in prison if convicted of Trumped up charges after the 67-year-old touched a piece of the liner that had detached from the pool.
Pirro said Hearn willfully and “violently” damaged a two-square-foot piece of sealant at the pool on June 19 after he was arrested for a misdemeanor charge.
Pirro claimed park employees witnessed Hearn pull up liner from the bottom of the pool.
Hearn’s lawyers Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann said Hearn is innocent, and that the charges were outrageous and alarming.
“This indictment reflects the Administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures. On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative. The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”
Attorney BoxWine said her office is handling about six other cases involving violations of the law at the reflecting pool.
The complete press conference is below: