India, June 21 -- A former Olympic athlete hailing from Maryland asserts that he was apprehended for reaching into the distressed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to touch a section of the deteriorating "American flag blue" sealant that is coming off from its basin.

David Hearn, a canoeist who has competed in the Olympics three times, was cycling by the monument on Friday when he observed a section of the pool's liner adrift in the water. Hearn participated in three Summer Olympic Games as a canoeist, with his final appearance occurring at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Hearn, 67, stated to The Washington Post that he made contact with the detached fragment and was promptly arrested by Park Police at the troubled monument.

Speaking to The ...