The attorney for former U.S. Olympian arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool offered a glimpse into his client’s defense.
“It’s not a federal crime to touch water,” attorney Norm Eisen said alongside his client, David Hearn, who faces misdemeanor charges.
The two appeared on MS NOW Monday.
Hearn, 67, claims he was “never read” his Miranda rights after he was arrested. He plans to fight the charges against him.
He denied he damaged the Refecting Pool when he reached into the waters to see what it felt like.
Eisen asserted federal authorities have no legal basis for the two misdemeanor citations issued after his arrest.
“There’s no basis for this. We’re going to contest it vigorously,” Eisen said.
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On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced “multiple individuals” were arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool.
The Reflecting Pool has been a focal point of controversy after an algae bloom and peeling paint were discovered after the completion of its multimillion-dollar renovation in early June.
Trump has pointed to vandalism as a means to deflect blame from the Reflecting Pool’s ongoing water quality and maintenance issues.
Hearn, a resident of Bethesda, Maryland, who competed in canoe slalom racing, was detained for nearly five hours, The Washington Post reported.
He said he was not able to communicate with anyone after being arrested by U.S. Park Police.
“I didn’t know how long I was going to be held,” Hearn said. “I had not been allowed to make a phone call. Nobody really knew I was there. I was held incommunicado the whole time.”
The former Olympian said he stopped by the Reflecting Pool during a 52-mile bicycle ride to see the refurbished project.
He noticed a piece of the pool’s new “American flag blue” liner that was partially detached from the pool floor and reached into the water to feel it before he was detained by Park Police.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” he told the Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
Hearn is scheduled to appear in D.C. Superior Court on July 9.