Justice Department drops case against former Olympian charged with damaging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Jul 31, 2026

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.