The Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to dismiss an indictment against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn, citing new evidence that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by faulty contractor work.
Federal prosecutors said the damage to the pool’s lining was the result of a “botched installation” by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings, contradicting earlier claims by President Trump that vandals were responsible.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington had charged Hearn with felony destruction of government property, accusing him of causing more than $1,000 in damage to the sealant recently installed at the pool’s bottom, USA Today reported.
D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference earlier this month that the charge against Hearn was about “accountability” and that he faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Hearn told the Associated Press he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19, 2026.
He said he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.
After the indictment came down on July 2, the Interior Department provided additional documents to the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicating the damage was tied to “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration.”
A subsequent visual inspection revealed damage throughout the pool, including in the middle, where prosecutors acknowledged a vandal would not likely have attempted to peel the lining.
“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,” Pirro said in the court filing.
The court filing also described a frenetic installation process, with frequent setbacks due to poor weather and reports of damage that emerged while the material was still being applied.
“Had [the Interior Department] been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” the filing stated bluntly.
The $14 million renovation project had already drawn widespread criticism as a waste of taxpayer money after the pool’s blue lining began peeling off in chunks and algae blooms turned the water a murky green.
Trump had made repeated claims about vandals cutting 350-foot slits into the Reflecting Pool, saying at different times they used a knife, a box cutter, and a razor, and calling the alleged perpetrators “thugs” who were “sick” and “terrible.”
Attorneys for Hearn said in a statement that the government “owes Mr. Hearn an apology,” adding that “the Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn should have never been brought.”
The episode represents an unusual and public contradiction of a sitting president by his own Justice Department, raising questions about the handling of the case from its earliest stages.
