00:00Today, a grand jury has returned a felony indictment against a defendant, David Hearn, for felony destruction of property for
00:09which he faces 10 years in prison.
00:11The indictment is in response to an incident that occurred on June 19th of 2026, in which the defendant Hearn
00:20ripped a piece of recently installed sealant on the bottom of the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial.
00:28The evidence shows, and we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that Hearn willfully destroyed property at the Lincoln Memorial
00:38Reflecting Pool.
00:39This was a deliberate act to damage the reflecting pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park
00:48Service actually have worked hard to restore and have witnessed.
00:53By Hearn's own admission, on June 19th, he reached down into the pool.
01:01Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing
01:13the bottom liner with both hands.
01:17According to witnesses, Hearn damaged approximately two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool.
01:26A Park's employee actually told Hearn to stop, to stop his behavior and stop what he was doing.
01:35Hearn reacted by shouting at that Park's employee, saying that she cared too much about the reflecting pool, and why
01:47did she even care, since it wasn't her pool?
01:52Now, Mr. Hearn's behavior was characterized by witnesses as belligerent, rude, and disrespectful, according to National Park Service employees that
02:05witnessed the event.
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