Trump disputes dropped Reflecting Pool vandalism case

President Donald Trump publicly challenged his own Justice Department after federal prosecutors moved to drop vandalism charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, saying new information showed damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came from a “botched installation” rather than sabotage.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a Trump appointee, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence asked a judge Friday to dismiss the case against Hearn, 67. Prosecutors said documents from the Department of the Interior indicated the pool’s damaged liner was caused by flawed work and a rushed renovation, not vandalism. They also cited “less than fulsome information” previously provided by the Interior Department.

Trump rejected that conclusion Saturday on Truth Social.

“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,” he wrote.

In another post, Trump acknowledged “there may have been some contractor difficulty,” but said “the major damage was caused by VANDALS!” He later posted an unclear video and wrote: “Look for yourselves at the VANDALISM that took place at The Reflecting Pool. The material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!” Al Jazeera reported that Trump also posted a video of a person, not Hearn, putting a hand into the pool, as well as a photo of the numbers “86 47” etched into the lawn of the nearby National Mall. Al Jazeera reported there is no evidence the lawn markings are connected to the Reflecting Pool.

The dismissal marked a sharp reversal for Pirro, who had previously accused Hearn of “forcefully and violently” ripping the pool’s liner and called the alleged act “an affront to the dignity of our shared history.” Prosecutors had alleged that damage attributed to Hearn exceeded $1,000, supporting federal charges, and had claimed all of the pool damage was caused by vandals.

In Friday’s filing, Pirro said the Interior Department provided additional documents only after the indictment. Those documents, she wrote, showed “that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor” and “that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism.”

Pirro also blamed pressure to finish the project by July 4, the date of U.S. Independence Day and the country’s 250th anniversary. “The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” she wrote.

Hearn, who represented the United States three times at the Olympics, has denied vandalizing the pool. He said he was bicycling past the Reflecting Pool when he stopped, reached in and touched peeling sealant. His lawyers said the government “owes Mr Hearn an apology.”

“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong,” Hearn’s lawyers said on social media. “The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim.”

The pool renovation had already drawn scrutiny because Trump selected a company he had used privately, Al Jazeera reported. The outlet said the company had not previously received a government contract and that the multimillion-dollar deal was awarded without competitive bidding. After the work was completed, the new lining appeared to peel and algae blooms emerged in early June.

At least seven arrests were announced in connection with the pool, according to Al Jazeera, prompting accusations that people were being scapegoated for renovation problems. Hearn became the most prominent person charged.

Conservative commentator Scott Jennings criticized the handling of the case on CNN, saying, “The administration looks like a monkey having intimate relations with a football.”