Davey Hearn says he was simply touching the new paint at the site out of curiosity and did not remove or alter it.
President Donald Trump is threatening years in jail for anyone who vandalizes the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. On Friday, U.S. Park police arrested Olympic canoeist David Hearn, charging him with destruction of government property after he reached into the water to touch a piece of the peeling paint. Hearn denies the charge. NBC’s Gary Grumbach reports for Sunday TODAY.
The president said multiple people had been arrested for vandalism and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would likely need to be drained for repairs.
President Trump said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is “probably” going to be drained for repairs after a recent algae bloom and instances of peeling paint following his administration’s major renovation of the Washington landmark. “We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to…
Trump said earlier on Friday that federal authorities were “actively investigating” reported vandalism near the reflecting pool.
President Donald Trump provided an update to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s status Saturday night, saying “many additional people have been arrested” for vandalism hours after it was reported U.S. Park Police arrested a former Olympian and cyclist for allegedly vandalizing the monument. The pool has drawn national attention due to its high-profile role in […]
The president posted on Truth Social claiming vandals slashed the pool's lining and poured chemicals into the water, saying arrests have been made. He provided no evidence for his claims.
The Trump administration has reached the stage of its Reflecting Pool saga where soldiers stand watch over a pond full of algae, and the internet has decided that image needs no embellishment to be devastating.Video circulating Saturday, licensed through FreedomNews.tv, shows National Guard members in uniform posted along the edge of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool while tourists wander past and cleanup equipment idles nearby. The footage spread quickly, and so did the mockery, much of it from across the political spectrum.Former RNC chair Michael Steele cut to the obvious question. Responding to a clip of the deployment, he asked simply, "Protect it from what, the algae?" Steven Huffman, posting the same scene, narrated it like a military success story, joked that the Guard and local police "have been dispatched to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to guard the algae" before concluding, "As you can see at the end of this clip, the algae is safe. Well done."Others leaned into the absurdity of the optics. Physician Carolyn Barber wrote, "Rest easy, America. The National Guard has been deployed to ensure no one breaches the heavily defended algae pond at the Lincoln Memorial. The republic endures." Advocate Melanie D'Arrigo tied it to the administration's spending habits, predicting that "next thing you know, the algae will need a $600 million ballroom."Beneath the jokes ran a more pointed critique about resources and motive. The account Republicans Against Trump labeled the scene "your tax dollars at work," framing armed troops at a decorative basin as a waste dressed up as security. Security researcher Robert Graham connected the deployment to the broader enforcement pattern that has accompanied Trump's vandalism claims, noting that "in support of Trump's conspiracies about his failures caused by sabotage, multiple police departments and the National Guard are now issuing citations merely for touching the water."That last point captures why the images resonate. Over the past two days a 67-year-old cyclist has been arrested and another visitor reportedly cited, both for making contact with a pool the president insists was sabotaged by chemical-wielding vandals. The simpler explanation, that a rushed and overpriced renovation bloomed green and shed its paint, requires no soldiers at all. The administration has chosen the version with troops, and the country is watching armed service members guard standing water while critics ask the question no one in the White House seems willing to answer: guard it from what?Rest easy, America. The National Guard has been deployed to ensure no one breaches the heavily defended algae pond at the Lincoln Memorial. The republic endures. https://t.co/IJxdigtYG4— Carolyn Barber, MD (@cbarbermd) June 20, 2026
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.