Justice Department to Drop Case Against Olympian Over Reflecting Pool Damage

The Justice Department is seeking to drop criminal charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Government lawyers filed a court document Friday stating that newly discovered information indicates the damage was not vandalism but rather the result of a contractor's faulty installation and a hurried effort to finish the project before the America 250 celebration around Independence Day 2026.

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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.

"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," the filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated. Hearn's legal team echoed this sentiment, asserting in a statement that the case against him should never have been initiated. They criticized the government's actions as an "abuse of government power" and demanded an apology for their client, a "patriotic American who did nothing wrong."

Hearn, who pleaded not guilty earlier this month to a felony count of property destruction, was scheduled to go to trial on September 28. The charge carried a potential maximum prison sentence of 10 years and alleged that Hearn caused at least $1,000 in damage to the pool. He was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours on June 19 after stopping by the pool during a bike ride. Hearn told The Associated Press that he reached in to examine the pool's coating and briefly touched a piece of it, but complied when a park worker told him to let go.

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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 administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology.

Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, competed in three Summer Olympics, with his best finish being ninth at the 1996 Atlanta Games, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. He and his supporters have suggested the prosecution was politically motivated, an attempt by the Trump administration to shift blame and scapegoat individuals. The Justice Department's move to dismiss the case suggests a significant shift in the government's position.

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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 said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.