US Attorney Jeanine Pirro warns against defacing US monuments in press conference

[0:00] 19th, he reached down into the pool. Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service [0:08] employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner [0:17] with both hands. According to witnesses, Hearn damaged approximately two square feet of sealant [0:26] from the bottom of the pool. A Parks employee actually told Hearn to stop, to stop his behavior [0:36] and stop what he was doing. Hearn reacted by shouting at that Parks employee, saying that she [0:45] cared too much about the reflecting pool and why did she even care since it wasn't her pool. Now, [0:56] Mr. Hearn's behavior was characterized by witnesses as belligerent, rude, and disrespectful according [1:05] to National Park Service employees that witnessed the event. Now let me talk a moment about those [1:12] employees. Many of those employees have come from around the country because they are proud of this [1:19] nation. They are proud of the 250th anniversary that we are about to experience. Many of them [1:26] have decided to step away from their desks and to go outside and actually work next to the pool to [1:34] witness what was going on as opposed to staying in a cool office. These are the witnesses that we're [1:41] talking about in this case. These are the people who care about this particular monument and what is [1:49] going on. They work long hours and they are tireless in their efforts and they must be shown respect and [1:59] not be treated with belligerence and with disrespect by those who seek to damage the very monuments that [2:07] they are there to protect. And they certainly should not have to witness the damage done right in front of [2:13] their faces. The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia remains committed to [2:20] protecting our national resources, our monuments, and our parks from vandals. And we are especially [2:25] committed to doing so in advance of our 250th anniversary. Now, I don't know if you want to add anything to this. [2:36] Deputy Chief? Deputy Chief Lamont from the Park Police. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Deputy Chief [2:43] David Lamont and I am the Field Operations Division Commander for U.S. Park Police. U.S. Park Police's [2:49] mission is to support the mission of the National Park Service and the Department of Interior and to [2:55] safeguard lives and to protect cultural resources. We understand this summer there are a lot of events for [3:01] America's 250th birthday and the U.S. Park Police will be very visible downtown. Our job out there is to [3:09] keep people safe and we encourage people to come down and enjoy the parks. That being said, if anybody [3:15] does come down to the parks, commits any acts of violence, or commits any other acts such as vandalism, [3:21] we will hold them accountable and they will either be cited or arrested. Okay, questions? You know, I'm not [3:44] going to get into the evidence, but what I told you is what our witnesses saw and experienced. There was [3:52] an effort, a violent effort, to rip up the ceiling from the bottom of the pool. And irrespective of [4:01] whether or not, you know, we think that, you know, there is some situation that preceded it, [4:09] we can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage and that damage is over a [4:16] thousand dollars. With an expert, come to the trial. You can, we will hear all that at the trial. [4:31] Right now, we believe it's his bare hands, both hands. Oh, he damaged it. He damaged the pool. [4:45] He damaged this pool. Well, good. I'm glad you've got that evidence. Come on in the grand jury, [4:52] you can testify. Next. You're welcome. I didn't charge anything harshly. I charge according to [5:11] the evidence. When we have witnesses, when we have the defendant on record saying things that are not [5:18] true, and we have witnesses who are disinterested, who have no motive to lie, they have no agenda, [5:25] they're just working there, and they are actually witnessing damage to a national monument, [5:32] we're going to go forward. Now, my office reviews all citations. Everything that the police do in [5:40] this jurisdiction is reviewed by my office. We review it. This is a case with tremendous evidence, [5:46] and this is a case where the evidence dictates where we land. Next. Yeah. It depends on the evidence [6:02] that we have. We have about a half a dozen other cases. Some of them will be misdemeanors, [6:08] and some of them could be less like a violation. But we're reviewing every case based upon the [6:15] evidence and reviewing all of the reports. And right now, it's about another half dozen [6:21] misdemeanors. Yes, sir. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I was at the reflecting pool yesterday, [6:36] and I think it's very sad. Someone intentionally did a tremendous amount of damage to the pool, [6:42] and you can actually see where all the cutting is. They took a sharp object and cut for many feet [6:50] along the pool. Well, when I file a charge, I'll be happy to show you a picture. All right. [6:57] What I'm trying to do is we're trying to find out who did it. Okay. And until we get to that point, [7:05] I'm not going to be able to, you know, discuss anything more than there was tremendous damage [7:10] that was caused. Yes, sir. Yes. Yes, ma'am. You know, here's, we are in a lane where it depends [7:37] on the evidence. You know, if the damage can be repaired for less than $1,000, it's a misdemeanor. [7:46] If it costs a lot more than $1,000, then we're at the felony level. It's up to the judge to decide [7:55] what the sentence is after a jury looks at the case. My job is to look at the evidence and to bring [8:03] it to a grand jury who agreed that this should be a felony based upon the evidence that they heard, [8:10] and they returned a true bill that this person should be charged with this felony. [8:16] One more. Already, this is a problem. Are you really talking about January 6th? I'm not. Okay, [8:34] who's next? Not you. No. Yes, you again. Go ahead. Yeah, he stopped being arrested. No. Yeah. Yeah. [8:50] No. I don't take a check of unanimous versus non-unanimous, and as soon as they give me a [8:59] right to do that, I'd be happy to do that, but I don't have that right. Thank you, everybody. [9:04] Have a great fourth. I'm not, I'm not tracking anything in terms of a threat environment. I [9:15] hope, I'm not tracking anything in terms of a threat environment. We're all hoping that [9:20] Americans are able to celebrate whether they're in D.C. or around the country. I mean, this is a [9:26] wonderful, wonderful holiday. It's not just any 4th of July. This is a big one, and I hope you and [9:32] your families, I hope you don't have to work, everybody, and I hope you can enjoy. Thank you. [9:43] Yeah, yeah, we've reviewed a few. We've reviewed several of them. I'll probably do a presser on [9:49] that in the future. Thank you. All right, everybody. [9:51] Have a great day.