{"id":1001,"date":"2026-07-09T17:12:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:12:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:12:06","slug":"alleged-reflecting-pool-vandal-david-hearn-pleads-not-guilty-lawyer-calls-him-scapegoat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001","title":{"rendered":"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#8216;scapegoat&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Three-time U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony charge for allegedly ripping up sealant in the National Mall&#8217;s Reflecting Pool in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=999\">June home sales disappoint as prices reach an all-time high<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hearn&#8217;s attorney afterward blasted prosecutors for obtaining an indictment against the 67-year-old, calling him a political &#8220;scapegoat&#8221; for the Trump administration&#8217;s controversial handling of the renovation of the roughly 2,000-foot Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mr. Hearn pled not guilty because he is not guilty,&#8221; the attorney, Norm Eisen, told reporters outside of D.C. Superior Court.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk, and every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,&#8221; Eisen said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool to touch water in the United States of America.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of Hearn who gathered outside the court carried signs, including ones that said &#8220;Trump always blames others for his failures;&#8221; &#8220;The Deflecting Pool: Never admit failure;&#8221; and &#8220;Drop the Trumped Up Charges.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Read more CNBC politics coverage<\/h2>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Platner Senate campaign taking &#8216;time to reflect&#8217; on path forward after sexual assault allegation<\/li>\n<li>Trump defends call urging Balogun red card review: &#8216;It wasn&#8217;t a foul&#8217;<\/li>\n<li>Belgium loses appeal of Balogun eligibility after Trump defends intervention<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Hearn was arrested June 19 on a misdemeanor charge after the Bethesda, Maryland, resident stopped at the Reflecting Pool during a bicycle ride and reached into it. <\/p>\n<p>Hearn has said he put his hand into the pool to see what a partially detached piece of blue liner from the bottom felt like. <\/p>\n<p>But U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro claimed he had intentionally damaged a 2-square-foot piece of sealant as she announced July 2 that a grand jury had indicted Hearn on a felony charge of destruction of property.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;National Park employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,&#8221; Pirro said at a press conference that day.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=996\">Trump claims to be \u2018number one\u2019 on TikTok. What does that mean?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Hearn is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, but would likely receive a much less harsh sentence if convicted.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The government&#8217;s evidence is weak,&#8221; said Mary Dohrmann, another lawyer for Hearn, during his appearance in court, The Associated Press reported. Hearn was not required to post bail in the case.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump has made renovation of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall a top priority of his administration.<\/p>\n<p>That project has been criticized by some over the administration&#8217;s award of a no-bid contract to a company connected to a Trump donor for work on the pool, a new blue liner peeling from the bottom of the pool and the water turning green from algae.<\/p>\n<p>Trump and government officials have claimed, without evidence, that vandals cut a gash extending several hundred feet in the pool.<\/p>\n<p>A National Park Service official in a  has said that after the renovation was substantially complete in early June, U.S. Park Police found that &#8220;a caulk over the foam sealant&#8221; in the pool had been &#8220;cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of the delaminating surface material.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hearn is not accused of using a razor or knife.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This indictment reflects the administration&#8217;s effort to scapegoat Davy and to shift blame for their own failures,&#8221; Eisen said outside of the court on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is a case that should never have been brought,&#8221; Eisen said. &#8220;Davey Hearn is innocent, and we are going to fight this case and entrust the justice system to do the right thing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We will litigate these issues vigorously,&#8221; Eisen said. &#8220;We have confidence in our justice system to see through this misuse of government power against an ordinary American based on a false and politicized narrative.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=994\">Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk,&#8221; a lawyer said as he blasted the Trump administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#039;scapegoat&#039; - Interstate Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#039;scapegoat&#039; - Interstate Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk,&quot; a lawyer said as he blasted the Trump administration.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Interstate Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T17:12:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e92f1e010d2aa7701a99d7e09a511aaf\"},\"headline\":\"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#8216;scapegoat&#8217;\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T17:12:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001\"},\"wordCount\":684,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001\",\"name\":\"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him 'scapegoat' - Interstate Moving Experts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T17:12:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e92f1e010d2aa7701a99d7e09a511aaf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1001#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#8216;scapegoat&#8217;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Interstate Moving Experts\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e92f1e010d2aa7701a99d7e09a511aaf\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him 'scapegoat' - Interstate Moving Experts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him 'scapegoat' - Interstate Moving Experts","og_description":"\"If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk,\" a lawyer said as he blasted the Trump administration.","og_url":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001","og_site_name":"Interstate Moving Experts","article_published_time":"2026-07-09T17:12:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e92f1e010d2aa7701a99d7e09a511aaf"},"headline":"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#8216;scapegoat&#8217;","datePublished":"2026-07-09T17:12:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001"},"wordCount":684,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001","url":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001","name":"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him 'scapegoat' - Interstate Moving Experts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-07-09T17:12:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e92f1e010d2aa7701a99d7e09a511aaf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/314430f71e16b813ffa85c8fc1b7d825.jpeg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?p=1001#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alleged Reflecting Pool vandal David Hearn pleads not guilty; lawyer calls him &#8216;scapegoat&#8217;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/","name":"Interstate Moving Experts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e92f1e010d2aa7701a99d7e09a511aaf","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatemovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}