by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News June 21, 2026

Vandals who poured chemicals into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will face serious charges, U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said on Sunday.

Several individuals have been arrested for vandalizing the monument which has been restored by President Donald Trump ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration.

David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was among those arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for destruction of property.

“These cases will be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Pirro said. “Products to create algae or a bigger problem, we’ll consider more serious charges.”

Independent journalist Emily Miller reported she filmed a man who was arrested after jumping into the pool on Friday and cutting out a “huge piece” of the sealant.

Miller also filmed a man being detained by Park Police. “He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae,” Miller said.

That man turned out to be cyclist and Hearn, 67, Miller reported.

Hearn told The Washington Post that he “reached” into the Reflecting Pool but denied any wrongdoing: “I didn’t vandalize anything. I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

Independent journalist Nick Sortor reported that U.S. Park Police are now investigating vandalism on the sealant that reads “86 47.”

President Trump on Saturday said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will likely have to be drained to make the necessary repairs after vandals took a knife and put a 250 foot long gash into the pool and poured corrosive chemicals in the water.

Trump wrote on Saturday:

“Many additional people have been arrested having to do with the disgraceful Vandalism of our beautiful Reflecting Pool. It hasn’t looked or worked like this since 1922, when it was originally built, but even then, it leaked badly, and didn’t work. Ours worked perfectly, including the mirror like finish, perfectly reflecting the two Great Monuments, which it never had before! What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly.

“We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible. What they have damaged does not even include the earlier killing of a large amount of grass which was, by far, the least of it. They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete. They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.

“The Reflecting Pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago, even going back to 1922 when it opened. We are very proud of what we have done with this magnificent structure, and we will get it repaired, quickly, to an equal level of Beauty. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

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  Pirro: Serious charges for vandals who poured chemicals in Reflecting Pool, WorldTribune.com