Charges to Be Dropped Against Former Olympian in Reflecting Pool Case

President Trump had repeatedly accused vandals of damaging the Lincoln Memorial 
Reflecting Pool. On Friday, federal prosecutors acknowledged it was “the result 
of flawed installation.”

By Madaleine Rubin
July 31, 2026, 6:14 p.m. ET

Federal prosecutors moved on Friday to drop charges against David Hearn, a 
former Olympic canoeist accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting 
Pool, acknowledging that a contractor hired by the Trump administration had 
“botched” its renovation.

In a motion filed in D.C. Superior Court, the U.S. attorney in Washington, 
Jeanine Pirro, said that her office had received documents showing the damage to 
the pool “was the result of a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic 
Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events 
associated with the America 250 celebration” on July 4.

Mr. Hearn, 67, was one of seven people facing charges in connection with what 
President Trump had claimed, without evidence, were efforts to sabotage his 
administration’s renovation of the pool. Mr. Hearn was the only person known to 
be facing a felony charge, rather than a misdemeanor.

It was unclear if vandalism-related charges against other defendants were also 
being immediately dismissed. [HA HA HA! They will be]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/us/david-hearn-reflecting-pool-vandalism-charges.html?unlocked_article_code=1.11A.Sfg1.AMzSSTxUGeRd&smid=url-share

The Trumpstein regime is completely full of fuck-ups.