The Trump administration's restoration of Washington's National Mall and iconic monuments sparked another issue Friday after a three-time Olympian was arrested at the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool amid repairs and efforts to combat an algae bloom.

According to a Washington Post report, David Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was arrested by U.S. Park Police and charged with misdemeanor destruction of government property after he allegedly interacted with a section of the Reflecting Pool's newly installed liner that had partially detached from the bottom of the basin.

Hearn, a former world champion canoe racer and Olympic competitor, denies damaging any government property and says he merely touched an already-loose section of material.

Video of the arrest circulated widely on social media, prompting President Donald Trump and allies to blame political opponents for what they described as vandalism targeting the recently refurbished landmark.

In a Truth Social post Friday night, Trump accused "Radical Left Lunatics" of damaging the pool and vowed that repairs and algae mitigation efforts would continue.

The incident is the latest chapter in a politicized debate surrounding the administration's push to restore portions of Washington, D.C., and the National Mall.

The Reflecting Pool renovation, which included installation of a new liner and measures aimed at improving water quality, has drawn outsized attention from critics and activists.

In recent weeks, some opponents have openly mocked the project's algae problems, while small but bizarre demonstrations have even emerged defending the pool's natural algae growth and criticizing federal cleanup efforts.

Those protests and social media campaigns have led supporters of the restoration effort to argue that some critics appear more invested in highlighting setbacks than in seeing improvements succeed.

The arrest of Hearn quickly became a symbol of that broader dispute, with competing narratives emerging over whether he was a curious bystander or part of a larger pattern of interference with restoration work.

Hearn was released Friday night after several hours in custody and is scheduled to appear in D.C. Superior Court on July 9.