Lawyers speak out after former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool case

A former Olympic athlete has broken his silence after pleading not guilty to a felony charge linked to one of Washington D.C's most famous landmarks, with his legal team committing to fighting the case 'vigorously'.

The 67-year-old, who competed for Team USA on the water decades ago, appeared in court this week over an incident that unfolded during what should have been a routine bike ride through the nation's capital.

His arraignment lasted just 13 minutes, but the fallout has been anything but brief.

"Today, he pled not guilty because he is," his lawyers, Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann, said in a statement issued straight after Thursday's hearing, per PEOPLE.

"If he can be charged with a felony for touching the reflecting pool, every American is at risk, and every American should be alarmed about this prosecution."

The statement went on to accuse the administration of using the case to 'scapegoat' their client and "shift blame for their own failures."

U.S. National Park Service employee uses a vacuum pump to clean algae off the bottom of the newly repainted Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall on June 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

What did David Hearn do at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?

Former Olympic canoeist David Carter 'Davey' Hearn was indicted on July 2 on one count of destruction of property $1,000 or more, following his arrest last month for reaching into the Lincoln Memorial Pool

Hearn was then released on his own recognizance after Thursday's hearing, meaning he's agreed to attend every court date and stick to his release conditions. A status hearing has now been scheduled for August 5.

Speaking outside D.C. Superior Court, Eisen told reporters there is 'substantial' evidence proving his client's innocence, and has vowed the defence would push back hard against the charge.

Hearn has always maintained that his actions were misunderstood. He was in the middle of a 52-mile bike ride on June 19 when he stopped to look at the newly renovated pool and noticed part of its blue liner appeared to be coming away from the basin.

David Hearn is a former Team USA Olympic Canoeist (Doug Pensinger /Allsport)

"I didn't vandalize anything," he told The Washington Post at the time. "I didn't destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs."

The indictment tells a different story, alleging Hearn "maliciously did injure, break and destroy certain property, that is, the lining material of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool."

D.C.'s U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has previously described the incident as "a violent effort to rip up the sealing from the bottom of the pool," insisting prosecutors can prove damage beyond a reasonable doubt, regardless of what may have caused it in the first place.

Trump gives update on 'criminally made algae' at Reflecting Pool and announces when it will be drained

Is the reflecting pool renovation falling apart?

The pool underwent a renovation costing more than $14 million in the weeks before Hearn's arrest, and it hasn't been smooth sailing since. Algae has repeatedly been spotted on the water's surface, chunks of the new liner have been seen peeling away, and the pool has already had to be drained and repainted to fix structural issues, including one bloom that turned the water green.

President Donald Trump has pointed to alleged vandalism as the reason behind the pool's problems.

For now, all eyes are on the August 5 status hearing, as Hearn's legal team gear up for what looks set to be a lengthy legal battle.

UNILAD has contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. for comment.