A former Olympian was arrested over claims he vandalised the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in the US capital in a bizarre incident.David Hearn, who competed for the US at three Olympic Games, has denied wrongdoing after being handcuffed by police at the scene in Washington, D.C., on Friday.Footage posted to social media showed Hearn, 67, dressed in cycling lycra and wheeling his bike near the landmark, which recently had an “American flag blue” liner installed.An algae bloom has seen the liner start to deteriorate, with the water instead turning a shade of green despite the US$14.8 million restoration project.Ex-whitewater canoeist Heard, who went to the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Games, told The Washington Post, “I didn’t vandalise anything” and explained his version of events.“I didn’t destroy or break, or peel anything. By the time I realised what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs,” he said.“I reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece. It was still attached to the bottom. “I didn’t remove anything.”Hearn, who had been on an 83km bike ride, was detained for almost five hours at a Park Police facility in Hains Point, according to the newspaper.He is due to face the DC Superior Court on July 9 for a misdemeanour charge of destruction of government property.Mr Trump appeared to excoriate the news on Sunday morning Sydney time, sharing an article about Hearn’s arrest while writing on Truth Social, “Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”It came on the same day Mr Trump spoke out about the state of the pool, blaming vandals and suggesting chemicals had been used to damage its condition.There has been some ridicule over its green colour despite the administration installing the liner to make it appear more blue.“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.“Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside 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.”– with the New York Post.