Lawyers for the defendant, 67-year-old David Hearn, blasted the indictment as proof of a politicized justice system under President Donald Trump.
"These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American," Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann said in a statement.
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2026. Photo by AP
The renovation of the pool next to the Lincoln Memorial has been one of Trump's pet projects to remake the U.S. capital, but it has been dogged by the rapid regrowth of algae and peeling paint just ahead of the 250th anniversary of independence.
On June 19, National Park Service employees observed Hearn "forcefully and violently pulling up and removing" approximately two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool and causing more than $1,000 of damage, U.S. attorney for the capital Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday.
