U.S. Olympic canoeist David 'Davey' Hearn charged in Reflecting Pool vandalism

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17. MaddowBlog-Grand jury indicts former Olympian in Trump DOJ's Reflecting Pool vandalism case

Securing an indictment is one thing; securing a conviction in Washington against an Olympian who touched the Reflecting Pool is something else

It’s one thing for Jeanine Pirro to secure a dubious indictment through the grand jury process.

It’s something else for her to secure a conviction in DC against an Olympian who touched the Reflecting Pool.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-07-02T19:22:02.513Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-justice-department-indicts-former-olympian-in-odd-reflecting-pool-case

In recent weeks, as Donald Trump’s renovation project at the Reflecting Pool became an embarrassing fiasco, the president settled on a curious strategy to deflect blame. He contended “vandals” had secretly attacked the pool, and it was their intervention, rather than his incompetence, that ruined the Republican’s triumph....

Hearn recently told MS NOW’s Chris Hayes that he’d touched a piece of peeling blue paint toward the end of a bike ride.

“I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, so I had no reason to think I was going to be arrested … and kind of before I knew it, I was being handcuffed,” Hearn said, adding that he made no effort to tear the pool’s coating.

His lawyer, Norm Eisen, soon after told The New York Times, “It is not a crime in America to touch water.”.....

Evidently, Trump’s Justice Department came to a different conclusion. On Thursday afternoon, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, whose recent prosecutorial track record has been as embarrassing as it has been political, announced that Hearn has been charged with one felony count of destruction of property in D.C. Superior Court.

According to the former Fox News host, who said at a press conference that she would not discuss any details about collected evidence, Hearn engaged in a “violent effort” and “willfully destroyed” public property with his bare hands. Pirro added that the defendant, if convicted, faces up to 10 years in prison.....

During the press conference, MS NOW’s Adam Hudacek asked the prosecutor how she squares charging an alleged pool vandal after Trump’s Justice Department pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who caused millions of dollars in damage at the U.S. Capitol. Pirro refused to answer.

Q: How can you square charging this alleged vandal when this DOJ has--


PIRRO: Already this is a problem


Q: Over 1,000 January 6 rioters who caused millions of damage--


PIRRO: Are you really talking about January 6? I'm not. Who's next. Not you! No!

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-02T19:05:50.968Z

Eisen, the defendant’s lawyer, added in a written statement, “Davey Hearn is innocent. These charges are outrageous and should be alarming to every American. This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures. On the eve of our nation’s Independence Day, Americans should be deeply concerned by the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative. The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”

I am personally surprised that a grand jury issued this indictment. This case will never get to trial.