WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal prosecutors have dismissed the remaining three cases alleging vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, ending all four prosecutions launched after the Trump administration blamed individuals for damage later attributed to defective renovation work.
The misdemeanor charges against Justin Carreno, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Cameron Thiers followed a felony indictment against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn. Prosecutors dropped Hearn’s case Friday after Interior Department records showed the pool’s peeling liner resulted from a rushed and flawed installation rather than vandalism.
Hearn’s attorneys had argued that the government’s own witness acknowledged substantial preexisting damage and could not identify repair costs caused by Hearn. Despite that evidence, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro initially presented the prosecution as a straightforward property-destruction case.
The consequences were not limited to court appearances. Carreno’s attorney said his client lost his government contracting job after his arrest and could no longer afford his home. Attorneys for the other defendants described weeks of fear and reputational damage caused by accusations that should have been investigated before charges were filed.
President Donald Trump has continued insisting that vandals damaged the pool, despite his own Justice Department abandoning every case. The dismissals leave four people to absorb the damage caused by prosecutions built around an administration narrative the evidence did not support.
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