WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss the felony case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn after acknowledging that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool resulted from a botched renovation rather than intentional vandalism.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said the Interior Department initially provided incomplete information about the pool’s condition. Documents produced only after Hearn was indicted showed that contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings had improperly installed the lining while rushing to complete the project before America 250 celebrations. Prosecutors said they would not have sought an indictment had they received the full evidence earlier.
Hearn, 67, was accused of pulling up part of the lining during a June 19 visit. He pleaded not guilty to felony property destruction, which carried a possible 10-year prison sentence.
A later inspection found peeling and damage throughout the pool, including areas a vandal would have been unlikely to reach. That evidence directly contradicted President Donald Trump’s public insistence that vandals were responsible for problems following the costly renovation.
Hearn’s attorneys called the prosecution an abuse of government power and said the administration owes him an apology. They argued that dismissing the charge does not erase his arrest, public accusation or threat of imprisonment.
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