Olympian arrested for ‘vandalizing’ Trump’s Reflecting Pool speaks out as president threatens 10-year prison sentence
A US Olympian arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor of destruction of government property has spoken out after the president threatened a ten-year prison sentence.
The president has spent a staggering $14 million on refurbishing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, which has seen the National Mall's water feature drained and resurfaced.
Trump had the bottom of it painted 'American flag blue', though less than a month after the work concluded, the pool's water has began turning green from algae, while the paint quickly started peeling off.
The president has since blamed 'vandalism' for recent events, penning on Truth Social: "We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial.
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"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.
"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."
Three-time Olympian David Hearn has since been arrested over vandalism allegations after he stopped by the Reflective Pool during a bike ride.
Hearn has denied claims that he damaged the pool, telling The Washington Post that he only put his hand into the much-talked about pool to see what it felt like and was then arrested by US Park Police officers.
He added to the Daily Mail: "It's a completely unfounded accusation. We've already heard many lies from this administration…That's just another lie."
The 62-year-old went on to say he touched a 'loose flap of coating' because he was 'curious as a concerned citizen'.
Hear has since been charged and is scheduled to appear in DC Superior Court on July 9.
The president's even issued a warning that a hefty sentence could be handed to anyone found guilty of vandalising the landmark.
Taking to Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump wrote: "Of the MANY Statues and Fountains that we rebuilt, renovated, cleaned, and fixed, the only one that was Vandalized was the Reflecting Pool, which is being taken care of, ASAP!
"It has been given a 300 foot long gash, chemicals have been illegally placed in the water, and the beautiful new grass field has been destroyed with a gigantic 86 47 chemically carved into it (Probably inspired by Dirty Cop, James Comey!).
"Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things - Which will be fully enforced!"
Topics: Olympics, Donald Trump, US News
Callum Jones