DOJ dropping Reflecting Pool vandalism charge against Olympian David Hearn

The Justice Department moved to dismiss the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn, who was alleged to have vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, acknowledging the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor."

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Hearn pleaded not guilty to a felony destruction of property charge earlier this month after the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro accused him of allegedly "forcefully and violently" ripping up parts of the pool floor.

Pirro's office said in a filing Friday seeking to drop the case that it only learned of evidence pointing to "a rushed and flawed installation process" after Hearn had been indicted by a grand jury.

Finn Gomez/Getty Images - PHOTO: The drained Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial are seen on the National Mall on July 22, 2026, in Washington, DC.

The filing stated Pirro herself visited the Reflecting Pool on July 17 after it had been fully drained and became aware of significant damage throughout the pool area, which spurred the DOJ to request all documents from the U.S. Interior Department about how the pool was lined.

Olympian David Hearn indicted for alleged vandalism of Reflecting Pool

Those documents indicated a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, "with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process, and extensive peeling of the lining throughout the Reflecting Pool" and a rush to complete the renovation project before the America 250 celebration on July 4, according to the filing.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, FILE - PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia on July 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

"Because these recently-produced materials significantly undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment initially supplied by the DOI and U.S. Park Police, the USAO-DC respectively moves to dismiss the indictment without prejudice," the court filing said, meaning the case could be brought again.

The filing includes an email sent on June 11 by a National Park Service engineer to others in the Department of the Interior describing their "concern" that overspray of the new pool coating along the perimeter of the pool could lead to a one-to-two-foot strip "that is vulnerable to peeling."

Some of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool liner appears to be falling apart

That was the area along the perimeter that Hearn was alleged to have pulled up, according to the filing.

At a news conference on July 2 announcing Hearn's indictment, Pirro told reporters that the "the evidence shows and we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn willfully destroyed property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool," and she said the evidence showed that Hearn was observed "forcefully and violently" removing liner material from the bottom of the pool.

Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo, FILE - PHOTO: APTOPIX Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

The filing from her office on Friday concluded: "Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt."

Attorneys representing Hearn said in a statement Friday that the case against their client should never have been brought.

"Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government's approach was ready, fire, aim," the statement from attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin said.

Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters, FILE - PHOTO: Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn exits the courthouse following his arraignment on a felony destruction of property charge related to vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, at DC Superior Court in Washington, July 9, 2026.

"The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology," they added.

The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the dismissal of charges.

It is not known when the judge will make a decision on the U.S. attorney's motion.

Billed as a signature project to beautify Washington, D.C. by President Donald Trump, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was plagued with algae and peeling paint since the $16 million renovation of the landmark was completed.

Trump has repeatedly blamed the issues on vandals, including one he said used a boxcutter or knife to make a more than 300-foot gash in the pool. 

Reflecting Pool renovations to cost more than $16 million 

At the time, five people had been arrested and five others issued federal citations for alleged vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, according to the Interior Department.

On Saturday, the president chastised Pirro in a social media post for dropping the charges, though he acknowledged there may have "been some contractor difficulty" with the project.

Daniel Heuer/Reuters - PHOTO: President Donald Trump participates in a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, July 31, 2026.

"I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM," he wrote.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Saturday defended his agency and its handling of the investigation, alleging that vandals have "repeatedly caused damage" to the pool.

"We also provided the U.S. Attorney's office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool," Burgum said in a social media post.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings was paid more than $14.6 million to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to the most recent federal contracting records. 

The company was awarded the contract after a no-bid process in part to expedite the project in time for July 4. 

Last month, the company acknowledged in a statement that "some areas in the Reflecting Pool" required repairs.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the DOJ's conclusions about the damage to the pool. 

ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Emily Change contributed to this report.

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