Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation
NBC News · LC · trust 49/100
BREAKING NEWS Jul. 31, 2026, 9:55 PM UTC U.S. news U.S. news Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation The Justice Department said “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” Listen to this article with a free profile 00:00 00:00 A member of the National Guard patrols along the rim of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following the completion of recent renovations in Washington, D.C., in June. Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty Images file Share Add NBC News to Google By Ryan J. Reilly WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has dropped its case against a former Olympic canoeist charged in connection with damage to the Reflecting Pool, acknowledging their allegations against David “Davey” Hearn don’t hold water.
In a filing Friday afternoon, a supervisor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which is headed by Jeanine Pirro, wrote that officials obtained information that undermined “the evidentiary basis for the indictment” against Hearn.
Prosecutors said that after the indictment, the Interior Department “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.”
DOJ said they “first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism” after reviewing more documents.
The Justice Department filing said that based on its review of evidence, “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.”
A spokesperson for Pirro said the filing spoke for itself. Her office also moved to dismiss at least one of the other three misdemeanor cases that had been brought in connection with the Reflecting Pool.
Hearn had told NBC News that the pool’s condition was exactly the same after he stuck his hands in the water as it was when he arrived.
He pleaded not guilty after he was charged with destruction of property and accused of doing more than $1,000 worth of damage to the pool.
“The Government’s case against Davey Hearn should never have been brought,” Hearn attorney Steven Levin said in a statement Friday. “Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American. The government’s approach was ready, shoot, aim. The federal government owes Mr. Hearn an apology.”
Ryan J. Reilly Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Read the original at NBC News →
Open in TruthVane →