WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty on Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated , a politically charged case that his defense attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an abuse of prosecutorial power.
David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, on a single felony count of property destruction.
Before the country’s 250th independence celebrations, President Donald Trump launched a multimillion dollar renovation project for the Reflecting Pool, which was plagued by problems, including damage to its new coating. Trump, without providing evidence, has alleged the damage was caused by vandals.
Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker. He is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage.
鈥淓very American should be alarmed about this prosecution,鈥� defense attorney Norm Eisen said after the hearing. 鈥淚t is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool.鈥�
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, said vandalizing the nation’s monuments and public spaces is 鈥渁n affront to our shared history.鈥�
鈥淭he law applies equally to everyone, and when it is broken, there are consequences,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
Defense says prosecutors’ evidence is 鈥榳eak鈥�
In front of a packed courtroom, D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he is free awaiting a trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.
A prosecutor, Kevin Reddington, said the government wasn鈥檛 seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a 鈥渟tay-away order鈥� without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.
Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn鈥檚 attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an 鈥渦pstanding citizen and member of the community.鈥�
鈥淭he government鈥檚 evidence is weak,鈥� she added.
Supporters cheered after the hearing
Dozens of supporters, many carrying homemade signs, gathered outside the courthouse and chanted 鈥淒avey!鈥� as Hearn left after the hearing. Hearn joined his attorneys in front of a bank of cameras and smiled to supporters but did not speak. He raised his right hand and pumped his fist as he left.
Adam Van Grack, who chaired the U.S. Olympic national governing body for canoe and kayak sports, joined the throng of supporters who cheered for Hearn after the hearing. Van Grack said Hearn has spent decades voluntarily maintaining National Park Service property that the canoeists used as a training course along the Potomac River.
鈥淭his is a person who has devoted his life to representing the United States on an international stage, caring for the community and protecting and caring for National Park Service property,鈥� Van Grack said. 鈥淪o the idea that he is a malicious destroyer of federal property shocks the conscience and makes no sense to anybody who鈥檚 ever known Davey Hearn.鈥�
Hearn previously that he was detained by for five hours after stopping by the pool during a 64-mile (103 kilometer) bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.
Pool project has been plagued by problems
The pool’s renovation has been riddled with problems. Workers have used devices called nanobubblers to curtail an algae bloom. The devices infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. Officials have said the pool most likely would need to be drained again for after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.
Trump has that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter. Pirro, a former Fox 小萝莉影视 host who was appointed by Trump, said last week that six other people were arrested on misdemeanor charges related to the $16 million pool project.
Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping up recently installed sealant from the pool and acting belligerently toward an employee who told him to stop.
Hearn鈥檚 attorneys have said the charges against him are based on a 鈥渃oncocted narrative鈥� and 鈥渟hould be alarming to every American.鈥�
鈥淭his indictment reflects the administration鈥檚 effort to shift blame for their own failures,鈥� the lawyers said in a statement. 鈥淭he justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly and AP video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.
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