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Multiple people have been arrested this weekend after allegedly vandalizing the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, prompting a strong response from President Donald Trump and an increase in security at the site.
Journalist Emily Miller posted a two-minute video Friday on X showing a man in lime-green racing gear questioning a National Guardsman before being handcuffed by U.S. Park Police.
The Washington Post later identified the man in Miller’s video as David Hearn, 67, a former three-time Olympian who was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property.
TRUMP SAYS VANDALS USED CHEMICALS TO DAMAGE NEWLY RENOVATED REFLECTING POOL NEAR LINCOLN MEMORIAL
National Park Service employees and contractors use vacuums to remove green algae from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Thursday, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Hearn told the outlet he had just finished a 52-mile bike ride when he noticed a “partially detached piece” of the new pool liner and “reached into the water to see what it felt like.”
While Miller claimed in her post that Hearn “grabbed” a hose that National Park Service workers were using to remediate algae growth, Hearn told The Washington Post the hose “may” only have been touched by his bike tire.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told the outlet.
TRUMP TAKES MOTORCADE INTO REFLECTING POOL, BLASTS PAST ‘$38M DISASTER’ FIX UNDER OBAMA
Paint peels from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. (Annabelle Gordon/Reuters)
Hearn, who was arrested in 1996 on charges of canoeing on the Potomac River but later had them dropped, said, “I didn’t destroy, break, or peel anything. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already being handcuffed.”
Miller reported that seven people were detained Friday and five people were detained Saturday in separate incidents, which has led to a major security surge.
Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn was arrested after allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. (David Madison/Getty Images, File)
Trump addressed the recent incidents Saturday afternoon on Truth Social, confirming that the Park Police arrested “multiple” people for vandalizing “our Nation’s magnificent Reflecting Poll.”
“Who would do such a thing?” the president wrote in the post. “These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”
National Guard members walk past a National Park Service employee using a vacuum to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Friday, in Washington. D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Trump on Friday noted Park Police has had “real problems” with vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, as the administration faces scrutiny over peeling paint and algae growth just weeks after a $14.8 million restoration project was completed.
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The White House, U.S. Park Police and Miller did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
