Olympian David Hearn indicted in Reflecting Pool destruction of property case; CNBC, July 2, 2026

Dan Mangan, CNBC; Olympian David Hearn indicted in Reflecting Pool destruction of property case

 "U.S. Olympian canoeist David Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., for destruction of property in connection with allegedly ripping up sealant in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Thursday.

Pirro said Hearn on June 19 willfully and “violently” damaged a two-square-foot piece of sealant at the pool, whose renovation has been a top priority for President Donald Trump this year.

Hearn, 67, faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of the felony charge, which was filed in the District of Columbia. He was arrested on June 19 on a misdemeanor charge.

The three-time Olympian told The Washington Post after his arrest that he had been cycling when he stopped at the Reflecting Pool to look at it. While there, he said, he reached into the water to feel what a partially detached piece of blue liner felt like, after which he was arrested.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told The Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”"

Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault; The New York Times, November 6, 2025

Zach Montague , The New York Times; Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault

"Sean C. Dunn, the man who pitched a sandwich at the chest of a federal agent in an unintentionally viral act of opposition to President Trump's law enforcement policies in Washington, was acquitted on Thursday after a jury found him not guilty of misdemeanor assault. 

The verdict, which arrived after roughly seven hours of deliberation, capped a nearly three-month effort to penalize Mr. Dunn for the August outburst and the resulting chase to arrest him. The government had previously failed to persuade a grand jury to charge him with a felony. 

It marked a significant setback for Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, who made Mr. Dunn’s case a centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s aggressive policing and prosecution strategy in the city. Washington residents have now twice rejected the government’s case against Mr. Dunn, after they refused to indict others caught up in the president’s crackdown.

The jury determined that the launching of the 12-inch deli sandwich from what the government described as “point-blank range” was not an attempt to cause bodily injury, preventing a conviction."