WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Pirro had charged David Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, with destruction of property of more than $1,000 for allegedly vandalizing the newly refinished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 19. President Donald Trump, who has overseen the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool, blamed vandals for damage to it.

But in a 20-page motion to dismiss filed by the U.S. attorney’s office, Pirro said her office wouldn’t have sought charges if the Interior Department, which manages the Lincoln Memorial, had initially shared more information about repair work on the Reflecting Pool.

Instead, the department only recently disclosed findings that Pirro said “strongly suggest that a rushed and botched installation by (Atlantic Industrial Coatings), the primary contractor, led to the damage to the lining of the Reflecting Pool.” 

That information was not known by prosecutors or the grand jury that returned an indictment of Hearn, she said.

Information withheld

She said it was not until her office “reached out to DOI dozens and dozens of times that DOI slowly started trickling information to USAO-DC. Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment.”

Pirro related: “Specifically, the newly released documents reveal that work on installing the lining almost immediately fell behind, due to a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures of testing on the sealing of the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing product at the worksite. The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed.”

Pirro said that “almost immediately after work was initially completed, peeling was observed along the pool perimeter.” 

A National Park Service engineer’s June 11, 2026, email “stated that the cause of the damage was contractor error via ‘overspray’; that the peeled lining would not float; and that the peeling would ‘not impact the strength of the liner,’” she said.

“Moreover, the July 20, 2026, inspection by contractors confirmed that overspray and delamination had occurred, again pointing to contractor error,” Pirro said. “Finally, a recent visual inspection showed damage throughout the Reflecting Pool, even in the middle of the pool, where a vandal would not likely attempt 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.”

Apology owed?

Hearn on July 9 pleaded not guilty during a brief court hearing and was released on his own recognizance. 

His lawyers, Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund, Mary Dohrmann of the Washington Litigation Group and Steve Levin of Steptoe LLP, said in a statement on Friday night that the government owes Hearn an apology for pursuing the case. 

“The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn should have never been brought,” they said. “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’s lawyers earlier this week had asked the judge in the case to release more information from the grand jury. 

They wrote in a motion that “the Government’s sole grand-jury witness on damages testified that the property was already damaged before Mr. Hearn allegedly touched it; that the same repairs would have been required regardless of Mr. Hearn’s conduct; and that he could not quantify any loss attributable to that conduct.” 

In a June 21 statement on its website, Atlantic Industrial Coatings defended its work on the Reflecting Pool.

“Atlantic Industrial Coatings in conjunction with the US Park Service has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs. These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,” it said.

“These repairs can not be made until the pool is drained. As soon as its feasible for the Park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.”

The company did not immediately return a request for comment. The Department of Interior also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WASHINGTON — The former U.S Olympian charged with damaging a section of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool pleaded not guilty during a brief court hearing Thursday and was released on his own recognizance. 

D.C. Superior Court Associate Judge Carmen Guerricagoitia McLean, who is presiding over the felony case against David C. Hearn, scheduled a status hearing for Aug. 5. McLean was nominated by President Barack Obama and, when that nomination expired, by President Donald Trump.

Mary L. Dohrmann, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group and a member of Hearn’s legal team, said during the arraignment hearing that he is an “upstanding citizen and member of the community” and three-time Olympian canoeist who regularly represents the United States in international competitions. 

Dohrmann said it would be a “waste of the court’s resources to impose any conditions” on Hearn ahead of a future trial. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Reddington said prosecutors have “a lot of evidence” in the case and that he wanted the status hearing to be scheduled before a trial. He later said the government wants to “quickly” share its evidence with Hearn’s legal team as part of the required discovery process. 

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro charged Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, with destruction of property of more than $1,000 for allegedly vandalizing the newly refinished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 19. Trump, who has closely overseen the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool, has blamed vandals for damage to it.

During a brief press conference outside the D.C. Superior Court Building after the hearing, Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund and a member of Hearn’s legal team, said “every American should be alarmed about this prosecution.”

“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to scapegoat Davey and to shift blame for their own failures,” Eisen said. 

Federal prosecutors, he said, should never have charged Hearn. 

“It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool, to touch water in the United States of America,” Eisen said. 

Maryland Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, in whose congressional district Hearn resides, wrote in a statement released during the hearing that “Hearn would never desecrate a federal building or landmark by writing his name on it or affixing his name illegally to it or engaging in any other kind of political graffiti, vandalism or delinquency.”

“I hope—and will do everything I can to guarantee—that Davey gets true due process and a fair trial on these absurdly trumped-up charges,” Raskin added. “It is only a matter of time before an impartial judge and jury recognize that this case has been built on a Kafkaesque arrest and Orwellian charges.”