Trump, Claiming Vandalism, Says Reflecting Pool Will Likely Need to Be Drained
Source: New York Times
Trump, Claiming Vandalism, Says Reflecting Pool Will Likely Need to Be Drained
The pool has taken on clouds of algae after a hasty renovation. A three-time Olympian was charged with destroying government property after he says he touched one of the strands of blue paint peeling off the pool's bottom.
Workers attempt to clean algae bloom from the newly renovated reflecting pool in Washington on Thursday. Alex Kent/The New York Times
By Minho Kim
Reporting from Washington
June 20, 2026
President Trump said on Saturday that "multiple individuals" had been arrested for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and that problems with a more than $14 million renovation project had become so severe that the pool would likely have to be at least partly drained for "necessary repairs." ... The president's announcement late Saturday, made on social media, was his starkest acknowledgment of the pool's rapid deterioration in recent days. The water this week became covered by clouds of blooming algae, which were obscuring a floor that had just been painted a shade that Mr. Trump has called "American flag blue." The paint then began to peel off, making it a tourist destination for unusual reasons.
Among those accused of vandalism was David Carter Hearn, 67, a cyclist and three-time Olympian as a canoeist who says he stopped at the site on Friday just to have a look, then reached down to touch a strip of peeling blue paint mixed with the algae. ... The U.S. Park Police arrested Mr. Hearn shortly after, accusing him of destroying government property, a crime that can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence. Mr. Hearn denies the charge. ... "I was just a curious, concerned citizen," he said in an interview. "I guess I was there at the wrong place, wrong time."
The administration has not released the names of others accused of vandalizing the pool, a crime that Mr. Trump said on Saturday could lead to "years in jail." In a later post, he said without evidence that vandals had "poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool." {snip} Mr. Hearn, of Bethesda, Md., said that he was on a 50-mile bike ride before stopping at the pool, and that Park Police officers detained him for more than four hours on Friday at a facility south of the National Mall without allowing a phone call. They also did not say more about why he had been arrested, he added. The White House and Park Police did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Hearn during Olympic trials in 2000. M. David Leeds/Getty Images
Blue paint floating atop algae-filled water in the Reflecting Pool, on Thursday. Salwan Georges for The New York Times
{snip}
Until his retirement 18 months ago, Mr. Hearn ran a company selling special materials for building canoes. That, he said, made him particularly interested in the materials contractors had used before the paint at the base of the pool began peeling. ... Mr. Hearn said that he had already received offers of pro bono representation following his arrest. ... "I'm getting a lot of support from my community," he added.
Minho Kim reports on breaking news for The Times from Washington.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/minho-kim
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/us/politics/trump-reflecting-pool-drained.html
https://youtube.com/watch?vd-7o9xYp7eE
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Don't Talk to the Police
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Regent Law Professor James Duane gives viewers startling reasons why they should always exercise their 5th Amendment rights when questioned by government officials. Download his article on the topic at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/pape....
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And by the way ...
Destroying government property?
EVERY ACCUSATION IS A CONFESSION!!!
