The Justice Department is dropping its case against former Olympian David Hearn, who was charged with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. A court filing now blames the damage on a "flawed installation" by a contractor and a rush to finish renovations. The U.S. Attorney's office accuses the Interior Department of withholding this information, while Hearn's lawyers call the prosecution an "abuse of power" meant to create a scapegoat for the project's failures.
Case dismissal
- ▪U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro moved to dismiss the indictment against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn on July 31, 2026
- ▪The charge accused Hearn of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's lining
- ▪Hearn was charged in early July 2026 with felony destruction of property, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence
Reflecting Pool renovation problems
- ▪A visual inspection of the drained pool revealed extensive damage throughout, including in the middle where a vandal would be unlikely to reach
- ▪The filing also attributed the damage to "the rush to complete the project" before the America 250 celebration in July 2026
- ▪A National Park Service official testified to a grand jury that the pool had substantial preexisting damage and was leaking over one million gallons of water per week
- ▪A court filing states the damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by a "flawed installation" by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings
Interior Department information failures
- ▪Prosecutors learned the damage was from a botched installation only after the DOI provided new documents following Hearn's indictment
- ▪The U.S. Attorney's office stated it would not have sought a grand jury indictment if the Department of the Interior had been forthcoming with its information
- ▪Jeanine Pirro's office accused the Department of the Interior (DOI) of providing "less than fulsome information at the outset of this case."
Trump administration involvement
- ▪The contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC, was awarded a no-bid contract for the project
- ▪President Donald Trump had frequently boasted about the Reflecting Pool renovation and, without evidence, blamed subsequent leaks on vandals
Hearn defense response
- ▪Hearn's attorneys accused the Trump administration of making the 67-year-old ex-Olympian a "scapegoat" for the troubled renovation
- ▪Hearn stated he was detained for five hours on June 19 and only touched a "flapping piece" of the pool's liner without removing it
- ▪In a statement, David Hearn's lawyers called the prosecution an "abuse of government power" and said the administration owes Hearn an apology
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