David Hearn of the United States competes in the men’s C1 whitewater canoe final at the 2000 Summer Olympics at Penrith Whitewater Stadium on September 18, 2000 in Penrith, Australia.
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U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hahn has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., on charges of criminal damage to property for allegedly removing sealant from the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Thursday.
Pirro said Hahn intentionally and “violently” damaged two square feet of sealant in the pool on June 19. Renovating the pool has been a top priority for President Donald Trump this year.
Hahn, 67, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the felony charges filed in the District of Columbia. He was arrested on June 19th on a misdemeanor charge.
The three-time Olympian told The Washington Post after his arrest that he was riding his bike when he stopped to see the reflecting pool. While there, he said he put his hand in the water to feel the partially peeled blue liner and was subsequently arrested.
“I didn’t destroy anything,” Hahn told the Post. “I didn’t break anything, break anything, or strip anything. By the time I realized what was happening, I was handcuffed.”
Janine Pirro (C), U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia on July 2, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
But Pirro said at a press conference that “this was an intentional act to damage the National Mall’s reflecting pool, which National Park Service employees have been instrumental in and have witnessed repairing.”
“Park personnel observed Hahn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” Pirro said.
“According to witnesses, Hahn damaged approximately two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool,” prosecutors said.
Pirro said when a Parks Department employee told Hahn to stop, Hahn yelled, “You care too much about the reflecting pool.”
“Davey Hahn is innocent,” Hahn’s attorneys, Norm Eisen and Mary Dorman, said in a statement.
“These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to all Americans,” the attorneys said.
“This indictment reflects the administration’s efforts to shift responsibility for its own failures. On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned about the abuse of government power against ordinary citizens based on fabricated narratives. The judicial system exists to determine facts, not provide political protection.”
Pirro said the reflecting pool is one of the nation’s landmarks and monuments and “belongs to all of us.”
“And they must be protected for generations to come,” she said.
The prosecutor said her office is handling about six other cases related to the alleged vandalism at the reflecting pool.
“Some of them will be misdemeanors, some of them may be more like violations, but we review every case based on the evidence, we review every report, and we have about half a dozen more misdemeanors at this point,” Pirro said.
A reporter asked Pirro how he could denounce President Trump’s pardon for more than 1,000 people who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol against Heard. The riot led to delays in the House and Senate affirming Trump’s loss to former President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
“Are you really talking about January 6th?” Pirro asked.
“Yes,” the reporter answered.
“Not really,” Pirro said.
