U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday in D.C. Superior Court in connection with allegations of damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to NBC News. Hearn was arraigned following a grand jury indictment on a single count of destruction of property after he was accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage to the pool. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean released Hearn on his own recognizance. His next hearing is set for Aug. 5.

Legal Defense and Public Reaction

Norm Eisen, one of Hearn’s attorneys, spoke to reporters outside court Thursday following the hearing. “Every American is at risk, and every American should be alarmed by this prosecution,” Eisen said, adding: “Mr. Hearn is innocent.” He emphasized, “It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool, to touch water in the United States of America.” A chorus of “Davey! Davey!” echoed around the courthouse after Eisen addressed the public.

The Washington courtroom reached maximum seating capacity before the hearing. Additional people were instructed to watch from overflow seating rooms elsewhere in the courthouse. Hearn nodded when the clerk read him his charges and appeared stoic. He later conferred and whispered with his lawyers when he was offered several options for the next status hearing date.

Before the court session, Hearn’s supporters rallied outside in his favor. Supporters walked in circles outside court in protest of Hearn’s charges. Multiple attendees carried signs that said “The Deflection Pool.” Hearn is among at least four people charged in connection with the allegations of tampering with the pool, which President Donald Trump began renovating this spring, according to NBC News.

Charges and Courtroom Details

Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty to damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C. Superior Court Thursday morning, according to NPR. Federal prosecutors charged Hearn, 67, with a single count of destruction of property causing more than $1,000 in damage to the pool. Hearn, who wore a dark suit jacket and tan pants, sat between his two defense attorneys in the crowded and stuffy courtroom and said little. Attorney Mary Dohrmann entered his plea for him.

Dohrmann said Hearn — who competed in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics — was born in Washington, D.C., and has lived there almost his entire life. He is an “upstanding citizen” and the government’s evidence is “weak,” she argued in court. The government attempted, unsuccessfully, to bar Hearn from the reflecting pool while the case continues.

Hearn has previously claimed, which his attorneys repeated during a short press conference outside the court, that he simply touched the water in the pool out of curiosity last month. At the time, the Trump administration had just completed a $14 million renovation of the 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,” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said of Hearn’s actions previously.

Public Response and Ongoing Controversy

While Hearn remained quiet Thursday, a loud contingent of protesters gathered outside the courthouse before and after his arraignment. Hearn exited the courthouse with his attorneys to cheers of “Davey! Davey!” Melanie Davis was one of the protesters.

According to NBC News, the reflecting pool’s renovation has been largely criticized as a massive failure and waste of taxpayer dollars. While the work was completed this spring, peeling paint and algae gathered in the water shortly after. The controversy surrounding the project appears to have spilled into the legal proceedings involving Hearn, with some viewing the charges as politically or emotionally motivated.