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Former Olympic Canoeist Indicted after Reflecting Pool Arrest; Coast Guard Prepares for Largest Maritime Event in U.S. History; U.S. Attorney Pirro New Conference on Reflecting Pool Vandalism. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 02, 2026 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... Princess met her Prince Charming, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: It is very sweet and I do love too that as a couple they are donating $26 million to a number of charities both in New York City and in a number of other areas around the country that I know are near and dear to them so that is a lovely message as well -- because we know they don't want gifts. They are bestowing the gifts.

Brynn Gingras, appreciate it, my friend.

We are also keeping a close watch on some news from here in the nation's capital waiting for news conference with U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. After learning a former Olympian has now been indicted. This is related to the investigation into vandalism at the Reflecting Pool.

We're going to bring that to you live. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Well any minute now we are expecting to hear from U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro waiting to see what more she may reveal about the indictment of former Olympian David Hearn who was arrested last month when he reached into the Reflecting Pool. An attorney representing Hearn said he was not aware yet of developments with the case since Hearn had previously received a citation. As we wait for Attorney Pirro, I do want to bring in CNN's Katelyn Polantz along with retired FBI Supervisory Agent Richard Kolko.

You actually have some new details for us just in the last couple of minutes because you were able to look at some of the documents here.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm actually seeing it now in the court's docket entries saying that David Hearn, he's being charged with the code that says you can't maliciously burn, destroy or injure someone's property, a serious felony. Because the way that the U.S. Attorney is looking at this, they're looking at the charge here as him hurting property that is a value of a thousand dollars or more. So that would be apparently the allegation that he was picking at or touching the Reflecting Pool bottom that had been peeling up as the Trump administration was trying to resurface the Reflecting Pool.

HILL: And just remind us, Caitlin, what he said at the time, right? Why he was there, why he reached into the Reflecting Pool. This is also sort of his life's work in many ways in terms of what he researches.

POLANTZ: So what does he say was happening in that moment? Well, Hearn said that he was curious. He was going there and he was looking and he was curious about what was happening because a lot of people knew that the pool bottom was coming up.

Here's a little bit more about what Hearn was saying at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID HEARN, FORMER U.S. OLYMPIAN: I took my left hand glove off and reached down into the water and sort of felt the end and bent it around a little bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Now, Erica, we have to put this into the context, though, of what goes on with the Justice Department these days. Donald Trump, the president, had been out there on social media saying there should be a serious charge against him, something punishable by up to 10 years in prison. And now we are seeing the U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro choosing to make this a felony case and not how it had originally played out, which was a misdemeanor citation. He was just being handed by Park Police.

HILL: So, Richard, when you look at the way that this is playing out, right, we will get more details, obviously, once we hear from Jeanine Pirro. What does it say to you about the investigation?

RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: It's just begun. We all know that an indictment is fairly simple to get, getting to a grand jury in D.C. And Jeanine Pirro can control that very simply. We have this indictment.

I'm not even actually familiar with that charge. That's an unusual one that I have not heard of before. But now it's the investigation part.

They've got the investigation that they would have done talking to the law enforcement or National Guard or whoever saw him reaching into the pool and doing exactly what he did. That's part of the investigation. Then there's got to be some forensic evidence that has to take place.

They'll go through that. They'll put it together. And they're going to have to see where it goes from there.

And then at the end of the day, well, I know the president's called for a very serious charge of 10 years. We'll have to see what happens in a proffer, you know, when they sit down with Mr. Hearn, his attorney and the prosecutors and see where they come up with.

HILL: There can be questions, especially when there are investigations that are well publicized, right? For certain events about how department resources are being used.

POLANTZ: And also if the Justice Department was acting in a way of singling someone out that they wouldn't have otherwise vindictively or selectively going to charge.

HILL: Well, it sort of brings me to my question. I mean, do you see anything here in the details that we have at this moment that that raises any sort of red flag for you?

KOLKO: Well, it's a high profile name. I mean, everybody might be familiar with Olympic canoeing or Olympic kayaking. But this is a three time Olympian, certainly a name that resonates throughout the sports community.

And once you do a little digging into it, it's not just a tourist wandering around D.C. So it's certainly very interesting. And I'm sure he was shocked that he got that citation, which has now turned into a felony indictment.

HILL: Yes. All right, stay with us. We're going to try to fit in a quick break here before we actually hear from Jeanine Pirro. So stay with us, everybody.

Also still ahead here this hour, Team USA making history with their first knockout round win in more than 20 years. Turns out may not be all good news, though. If you've been following, you'll know a little bit of a red card controversy there that could change -- or actually does change the lineup for their next match when they'll go head to head with Belgium. Fans not very happy today.

That's ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Dozens of tall ships from all around the world are making their way to New York Harbor for the Fourth of July holiday. Leading the way at the Coast Guard's flagship, the Eagle, which is also a teaching ship for Coast Guard cadets.

Leigh Waldman is on board the Eagle. She is there for the journey up to New York. All right, how is life out there on the open seas? Are they putting you to work, Leigh?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Erica, they have definitely put me to work in our week that we've stayed with them. These cadets and crew members just raising the red, white and blue to sail behind America's tallest ship as we make our way into New York Harbor. There is a lot of action happening here on board this ship.

We're approaching a critical part of this journey as we sail through a narrow channel to get to New York Harbor. This crew, they can handle it. They've brought on a pilot just as a mitigation and mitigation effort.

But they've got this easily because they have an incredible captain. We have Captain. Hi, nice to see you.

We have Captain Kris Ensley here. Talk to me about how this ship is used as a training vessel for the Coast Guard.

CAPT. KRIS ENSLEY, COMMANDING OFFICER, COAST GUARD BARQUE EAGLE: Yes, Leigh, we use this ship to teach three things for our future officers to grow the leaders we need in the Coast Guard. We teach leadership, teamwork, risk management. We teach people how to face their fears and to grow as warriors.

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Three things for our future officers to grow the leaders we need in the Coast Guard. We teach leadership, teamwork, risk management. We teach people how to face their fears and to grow as warriors. With all of this sailing rig, all the five or six miles of running rigging in the 23 sails.

And then we teach technical skills. We teach navigation, seamanship, damage control, engineering. All of those things are taught as they master the same watch stations they're going to master and stand on every single Coast Guard cutter across the fleet.

And then finally, we get them salty.

WALDMAN: We get them salty, that is a saying here.

ENSLEY: We teach them what life is like at sea on a Coast Guard cutter so they're ready to serve at sea in our Coast Guard.

WALDMAN: You know, we've admired all of the crew, all of the cadets, the younger ones, the senior ones. It is remarkable to see how well they work together, how eager everyone is to learn and to be a part of Sail 250. You were a cadet on this ship.

ENSLEY: A long time ago.

WALDMAN: And now you're the captain of this ship and you are sailing into New York to be a part of the largest maritime event in our nation's history. How does that feel?

ENSLEY: You know, it's such an honor this summer for our crew, the 65 men and women who work on this ship year-round to lead the parade of sail on the 4th of July. And I think about the fact that we're honoring the 250 years of what America is while bridging to what these young men and women, these 19, 20, 21-year-olds are going to serve in their careers. Frankly, these young men and women, they signed up to come and serve America.

They aren't trying to get rich. They just want to come out here and do right by their country. And it is such an honor to help them bridge that pathway of 250 years of history to what they're going to do over the course of their careers.

WALDMAN: We've had the honor to see all of them hard at work. It's inspired us. Had to get the swag for Eagle here. For you to see this transformation as people are growing, honing those skills, the celestial navigation record has been broken for people to train themselves to travel via the stars. Talk to me about the transformation you see onboard this ship.

ENSLEY: Yes. On day one, the cadets show up here and they're wide- eyed, and there is a lot going on. And the goal is by week six, we, through those six weeks of training, we're telling them what to do, educating them, helping them learn to lead themselves.

So by week six, they're running the entire show themselves, and we're just standing there telling them, oh, you got your foot in the bite of a line, that might be a safety problem. But letting them get the ship from point A to point B, man all the watch stations, and run this ship.

WALDMAN: Thank you so much, Captain.

ENSLEY: No, thank you, Leigh.

WALDMAN: Erica, we've had the chance to try our hand at manning the lines onboard. I've had a chance to climb up 120 feet on these masts and roll up these sails. This is not for the weak.

All of the men and women onboard are incredibly tough mentally and physically. It's just been incredible to just see a glimpse of what their life looks like.

HILL: It is. We are all watching this. I'm hearing everybody from the control room, too.

We are loving every moment of this, Leigh. And so great that the captain was able to spend so much time with you. You have actually, as you were noting, you've been onboard.

You've been sleeping onboard. You're learning how things are done on the ship. Were you surprised at all in terms of what you have experienced over the last several days?

WALDMAN: I was extremely surprised. You know, we went on here, we had no idea half the terms that they were using. We kept calling the lines ropes.

That's a no-go. But we've learned so much here. They've really given us the opportunity to dive deep and try and hone our own skills so we could know just part of what they deal with here onboard the Coast Guard Eagle.

This ship has been in the Coast Guard's arsenal for 80 years. So many cadets, so many crew have come through here. This is a special place in their heart for the Coast Guard.

And it's just been an honor and a surprise to see it all firsthand.

HILL: So great. And, of course, making your way to New York Harbor. Full disclosure, I'm pretty excited. I get to be where Leigh is on Saturday, sailing up the Hudson this time for that parade, which will be part of our coverage here on CNN.

Leigh, thank you. Such a great assignment for you. And a huge thanks to the Coast Guard as well.

We are, of course, also keeping an eye on this news conference from U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. An indictment into the alleged vandalism of the reflecting pool for a former Olympian could now be facing years in prison. We'll take a closer look at what we know about those charges.

It looks like, and there we see the attorney making her way out now. Let's listen in.

JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: I am here today with Michael Spence from my office, along with Jeff Wojcik, both of them part of the Superior Court Division of my office, along with Damon Hagan, who is the solicitor for the Department of Interior and Deputy Chief David LeBond from the Department of Parks, who is the solicitor for the Department of Interior and Deputy Chief David LeBond from the Parks Police Department. Did I get every -- yes.

And today I thought it was important to call this press conference because one of the most offensive images that I hold in my mind are the images of national monuments that are being defaced, roped, torn down, graffitied, and damaged by individuals. I have a vivid memory of this happening several years ago and over time, where our national monuments and statues are being torn down, and this is not the way of a civilized society.

It is anarchy. And our nation has weathered moments of anarchy and chaos in the past, and individuals have made a decision, many of them, to destroy and to damage national monuments, not taking into account the fact that the rest of the nation considers these monuments important and necessary to our history. But this unchecked vandalism and civil disorder turns into criminal behavior, and that's why we're here today.

They are an affront to the dignity of our shared history, and we will not allow our sacred monuments to be roped off, defaced, or diminished or in any way impacted by disgruntled individuals who think that they and not the rest of the nation have the right to decide what should happen. These landmarks and monuments belong to all of us, and they must be protected for generations to come. And the president, when he came here in his executive order to make D.C. safe and beautiful, brought in a fresh injection of resources, both for my office and for all of law enforcement, to make D.C. safe. And the other part of that executive order was to make D.C. beautiful.

And as part of that, in anticipation of the celebration of 250 years of American history, the president, as you heard from him, has been able to improve and to clean up 50 parks, more than 48 monuments that have been repaired, 22 fountains have been returned to service. And these monuments and fountains must be protected, and those who decide that they want to do harm will be held accountable, just as they have been held accountable in the criminal justice system in so many of the press conferences that you have been in this room to witness. D.C. has experienced a renaissance like it has never experienced before in both safety and in beauty. Today is about accountability for damaging a national resource, a national treasure, and that is the Reflecting Pool that runs from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, which is, of course, a symbol of D.C.'s beauty and history. Now, it was recently renovated with significant funds and investment.

Any tampering undermines that. And make no mistake, if anyone decides they want to damage that, whatever they think their reason is, or whether they think it's justified, or whether they think it's not important, will be held to account. This is a priority not only for the president, but for myself as well.

So, today a grand jury has returned a felony indictment against a defendant, David Hearn, for felony destruction of property for which he faces 10 years in prison. The indictment is in response to an incident that occurred on June 19th of 2026 in which the defendant, Hearn, ripped a piece of recently installed sealant on the bottom of the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial. The evidence shows, and we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that Hearn willfully destroyed property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

This was a deliberate act to damage the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore and have witnessed.

[14:55:00]

By Hearn's own admission, on June 19th, he reached down into the pool. Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands.

According to witnesses, Hearn damaged approximately two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool. A parks employee actually told Hearn to stop, to stop his behavior and stop what he was doing. Hearn reacted by shouting at that parks employee, saying that she cared too much about the Reflecting Pool and why did she even care since it wasn't her pool.

Now, Mr. Hearn's behavior was characterized by witnesses as belligerent, rude, and disrespectful according to National Park Service employees that witnessed the event. Now let me talk a moment about those employees. Many of those employees have come from around the country because they are proud of this nation.

They are proud of the 250th anniversary that we are about to experience. Many of them have decided to step away from their desks and to go outside and actually work next to the pool to witness what was going on as opposed to staying in a cool office. These are the witnesses that we're talking about in this case.

These are the people who care about this particular monument and what is going on. They work long hours and they are tireless in their efforts and they must be shown respect and not be treated with belligerence and with disrespect. By those who seek to damage the very monuments that they are there to protect and they certainly should not have to witness the damage done right in front of their faces.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia remains committed to protecting our national resources, our monuments, and our parks from vandals and we are especially committed to doing so in advance of our 250th anniversary.

Now, I don't know if you want to add anything to this, Deputy Chief. Deputy Chief Lamont from the Park Police.

DEP. CHIEF DAVID LAMONT, FIELD OPERATIONS DIVISION COMMANDER, U.S. PARK POLICE: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Deputy Chief David Lamont and I am the Field Operations Division Commander for U.S. Park Police. U.S. Park Police's mission is to support the mission of the National Park Service and the Department of Interior and to safeguard lives and to protect cultural resources. We understand this summer there are a lot of events for America's 250th birthday and the U.S. Park Police will be very visible downtown. Our job out there is to keep people safe and we encourage people to come down and enjoy the parks. That being said, if anybody does come down to the parks, commits any acts of violence or commits any other acts such as vandalism, we will hold them accountable and they will either be cited or arrested.

PIRRO: OK, questions?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was this part of the pool, you know, there had been some damage before. Was this part of the pool specifically, was the sealant already partially removed? Did he rip it back?

Can you just describe in detail? Because he maintains that it looks the same as it did before he arrived. That's his --

PIRRO: You know, I'm not going to get into the evidence, but what I told you is what our witnesses saw and experienced. There was an effort, a violent effort to rip up the sealant from the bottom of the pool. And irrespective of whether or not, you know, we think that, you know, there is some situation that preceded it, we can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage and that damage is over $1,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keying in on that, how do you prove that $1,000?

PIRRO: With an expert. Come to the trial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has to be drained. Like, is that because it was --

PIRRO: We'll hear all that at the trial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he have any tools or was it just his bare hands?

PIRRO: Right now, we believe it's his bare hands, both hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So does that indicate in your belief that it was probably damaged before or do you believe that he -- PIRRO: Oh, he damaged it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Further, but do you believe it had already been damaged before?

PIRRO: He damaged the pool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before he touched it.

PIRRO: He damaged this pool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there had been, you know, all these videos.

PIRRO: Well, good. I'm glad you've got that evidence. Come on in the grand jury, you can testify.

Next. Thank you for your time today. You're welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The citation that Mr. Hearn received suggested that he would be charged with misdemeanors, but the president obviously called for this to be a felony charge here. Did you ultimately decide to charge this so harshly at the president's direction?

PIRRO: I didn't charge anything.

END