Prosecutors drop more Reflecting Pool vandalism charges

Federal prosecutors in Washington have dropped charges against three more people accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, days after moving to dismiss a felony case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn amid a dispute inside the Trump administration over what caused the damage.

Court filings show the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia dismissed misdemeanor cases against Justin Carreno, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Cameron Thiers. The three had been accused of destroying property valued at less than $1,000. The filings followed a Friday motion by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office to dismiss vandalism charges against Hearn, a Maryland resident who had been accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage.

Hearn said he stopped at the pool during a June 19 bike ride and was arrested after reaching down to touch it. He denied wrongdoing. Prosecutors said Friday that newly released information from the Department of the Interior made it “difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” The motion blamed a “botched installation” of the pool lining, citing poor weather, delays and a rush to complete work ahead of America 250 events surrounding Independence Day 2026.

Pirro wrote that Interior Department documents showed the damage was linked to “flawed installation by the contractor” and that rain, wind and delays in obtaining sealant “led to hasty and botched work” before the pool was refilled in early June. Within days, NPR reported, algae turned the water green and pieces of the new “American flag blue” lining were seen floating to the surface.

The dismissals triggered public pushback from President Trump, who said Pirro “choked” and “made a mistake.” Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, he told reporters, “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” adding, “I don’t know what the hell happened.” On Truth Social, he wrote, “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also disputed Pirro’s account. In a post on X, he said “the evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool.” He said some acts were caught on camera and that the department provided prosecutors with expert and eyewitness testimony, as well as “every piece of evidence they asked for.” CBS News reported that Burgum did not provide specific evidence in the post.

Lawyers for the defendants welcomed the dismissals and criticized the prosecutions. G. Allen Dale, who represents Thiers, said his client was “happy now that this case has been dismissed,” but described the past six weeks as a “nightmare.” Dale told NPR that “anyone who’s read the pleading that was filed in Mr. Hearn’s case would understand exactly why they would have to dismiss against the remainder of those charged.”

Jamison Koehler, an attorney for Dennison-Gibby, told CBS News that his client “was arrested for a crime any rational person knows she did not commit.” He told NPR that Dennison-Gibby, a D.C.-area veterinarian, had been “worried about wildlife” and picked up small floating pieces of liner along with trash. “Because the trash didn’t fit with their narrative,” he said, “the government doesn’t mention” it.

Carreno’s attorneys said the case cost him work. Attorney Mark Zaid wrote on X that Carreno “lost two jobs due to this frivolous arrest.” David Benowitz, another lawyer for Carreno, told CBS News that his client was a government contractor who was fired days after his arrest and later had to move because he could not afford rent. “We were all at the pool, there’s no slashes,” Benowitz said, adding that lawyers saw “flawed seams” and areas where the liner “bubbled up.”

Attorneys for Hearn said Friday that the case “should never have been brought” and that the government “owes Mr. Hearn an apology.”