WASHINGTON — DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is moving to dismiss charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, revealing in a Friday court filing that the damage was, in fact, “the result of flawed installation by the contractor.”
Pirro’s office submitted the motion to dismiss after Hearn had pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony count of destruction of property for the alleged June 19 incident.
But the July 31 court filing reveals that the sealant at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool had “[a]lmost immediately” begun peeling after the work was completed after the Virginia-based company got a no-bid contract for the renovations.
And the Department of Interior (DOI) “provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case,” Pirro’s motion noted.
“It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026,” the court filing stated.
“It was not until after these documents were produced that USAO-DC first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.”
Hearn’s attorneys are demanding an apology on behalf of the Olympian.
“The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn 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 administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,” said Hearn’s attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin in a statement.
Reps for DOI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
