Olympian arrested at reflecting pool is Trump 'scapegoat', lawyer says

A lawyer for the Olympian arrested at Washington's reflecting pool says his client is a scapegoat who is being targeted to distract Americans from the Trump administration's failures.

David 'Davey' Hearn, who represented the US in canoeing at three Olympic Games, was arrested near the recently repainted pool on Friday, local time.

Afterwards, he told media he had briefly reached into the pool to touch a piece of broken lining when he was handcuffed by police and taken into custody.

"This is just another example of how the Trump administration are picking on average Americans as scapegoats to distract from, and to place blame for, their failures," Mr Hearn's lawyer Joshua Kolb told the ABC.

"He's completely innocent.

"But this is what this DOJ [Department of Justice], what the Trump administration has done. This has been their approach to dealing with the problems that they create of their own making."

Mr Hearn has told US news outlets he had been on a bike ride when he stopped by the pool to take a look at the widely reported problems with its paint job. He said he touched some lining that had already broken away from the bottom of the pool, but did not cause any damage.

He was then handcuffed and detained for about five hours.

"It's pretty clear that somebody high up decided to make an example of me," Mr Hearn told the BBC.

'Reflection of the slime'

Mr Trump has used multiple press conferences and social media posts to blame vandals for damage at the recently renovated pool. It has been plagued by algal blooms, which turned the water green, and peeling paint in the days since it reopened.

The US president has said vandals poured chemicals and acid into the water. He has also said they used knives and razor blades to cut the lining.

He later told reporters that videos and photos would be released to prove the damage was the work of vandals. So far, no images or other evidence have been released. The ABC's requests to the relevant US agencies have not been answered.

"The green water in the pool, it's a reflection of the dirty money and the slime that's coursing through DC right now," said Mr Kolb, who is a senior lawyer at the Democracy Defenders Fund.

"And it's happening at the expense of everyday Americans like Davey."

Mr Trump said six people had been arrested over damage at the pool.

"It's so sad to see what they did," Mr Trump said on Wednesday, local time.

"And then the fake news tries to say, 'Oh well, it [the renovation] didn't work.' Of course it worked. Everything I [do] does work. What I do works. What I do best is build."

Sightseers bemused

Mr Trump had wanted the reflecting pool renovations completed by July 4, when Washington will host an array of events marking 250 years of the United States.

The project has been controversial from the beginning, when Mr Trump said he had engaged a "guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools" to paint the pool "American flag blue".

Mr Trump later said he was not involved with the contract, which was awarded without tender and is valued at $US14.7 million ($21.3 million). He had initially said the cost would be "less than $2 million" but later said it was a "much bigger job than originally envisioned".

The pool has been attracting larger-than-usual crowds of sightseers in recent days.

Tammy Vickers, from Florida, told the ABC she "wanted to come down and show my support" after hearing the reports about vandalism.

"He [Mr Trump] is trying to beautify America again, and our capital, and he's cleaning it up and I think he's doing an awesome job," she said.

Others were less enthused about the pool's makeover.

"I think it was for nothing because it already looks bad," said Brandy Fisher, a Trump voter from North Carolina.

"We're very conservative, but I don't think things are being done correctly money-wise. But I don't think any of them [politicians] do."

The algae has now been treated and cleared, and the pool's appearance has reverted to blue. But the pool is set to be drained again for repairs. It is unclear if they will be done in time for July 4.

Harper Shittu, from Texas, said the pool's "greenish tint" was not as bad as she had feared, but the renovations represented money poorly spent.

"I think that it was fine the way it was, and I just don't understand why we felt the need to paint it because it looks the exact same."

Mr Hearn, who has been charged with destruction of government property,  is due in a Washington court on July 9.

"He's done nothing wrong whatsoever," Mr Kolb said. "I think that'll be pretty quickly proven."