DOJ drops Reflecting Pool case against former Olympic canoeist

Federal prosecutors moved Friday to dismiss the case against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn, saying new information showed damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by a contractor’s flawed work rather than vandalism.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia had charged Hearn with destruction of government property, accusing him of causing more than $1,000 in damage to sealant recently installed at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. Hearn pleaded not guilty and strongly denied the allegations.

In a filing Friday afternoon, a supervisor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is headed by Jeanine Pirro, wrote that officials had obtained information undermining “the evidentiary basis for the indictment” against Hearn.

Prosecutors said the Interior Department provided additional documents after the indictment indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 “was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings.” The Justice Department said it “first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism” after reviewing more documents.

“Based on the government’s review of the evidence,” the filing 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.”

The case involved damage to sealant installed at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool in a project championed by President Donald Trump, CBS News reported. Federal prosecutors had accused Hearn of ripping up the bottom of the pool, but the government’s Friday filing said the evidence no longer supported that allegation.

Hearn previously told NBC News that the pool’s condition was exactly the same after he put his hands in the water as it was when he arrived.

“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.”

A spokesperson for Pirro said the filing spoke for itself, NBC News reported. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment to CBS News, which said it had also reached out to the Justice Department and Hearn’s attorneys.

NBC News reported that Pirro’s office also moved to dismiss at least one of the other three misdemeanor cases that had been brought in connection with the Reflecting Pool damage.