By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge in the nation’s capital has set a trial date in September for a former Olympic canoe racer charged with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the site of a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by President Donald Trump.
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D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman set the Sept. 28 trial date for David Hearn during a hearing on Monday. It was Hearn’s second court appearance since a grand jury indicted him on a felony count of property destruction.
Hearn, who pleaded not guilty to the charge on July 9, has asked the court to dismiss the case. In a court filing, his attorneys argued the government has failed to properly preserve important physical evidence from the Reflecting Pool.
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool.
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Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, second from left, with his attorney Norman Eisen, right, depart the D.C. Superior Court after pleading not guilty to allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Nadine Seiler arrives in an inflatable frog costume, to support former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, before he arrives at D.C. Superior Court, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Bill Endicott, former Olympic canoeist David Hearn’s coach, left, joins other to rally for Hearn, who was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, at D.C. Superior Court, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
FILE – American David Hearn, of Bethesda, Md., makes his way through the C1 slalom course, Sept. 17, 2000, at Whitewater Stadium in Penrith, Australia. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, second from left, listens as his attorney Norman Eisen, right, speaks after he pleaded not guilty to allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Trump, a Republican, ordered the pool’s renovation work ahead of the country’s 250th independence celebrations, but the project has been plagued by problems. Trump has claimed that vandals have damaged the pool, including its lining.
Hearn, 67, previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19. He said that he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool but that he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.
Hearn, who’s from Bethesda, Maryland, competed in three Summer Olympics, earning his best finish, ninth, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says on its website.
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