President Donald Trump publicly criticized longtime ally Jeanine Pirro, who currently serves as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, after her office opted to drop felony charges against a former Olympian who was accused of vandalizing the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
On Friday, Pirro’s office moved to dismiss felony charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn in connection with alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a court filing, prosecutors stated that newly obtained information indicated the damage resulted from a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project ahead of events tied to the America 250 celebration around Independence Day 2026.
The filing noted that the Department of the Interior had provided less than complete information at the outset and that the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment had the full details been available earlier. It further stated that the evidence made it difficult to attribute the widespread damage to vandalism or to prove such a claim beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, had been indicted earlier in July on one felony count of property destruction. Prosecutors initially alleged that on June 19, he forcefully and violently pulled up a section of the recently installed sealant or liner on the bottom of the Reflecting Pool with both hands, causing more than $1,000 in damage.
Trump admin DROPS Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against Olympian David Hearn!
Blames Atlantic Industrial Coating for “botched installation.”
BUT contractor blames government for filling too soon.
Whose fault is the peeling blue? pic.twitter.com/UQalWD6sxe— emily miller (@emilymiller) July 31, 2026
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Hearn pleaded not guilty and has maintained that he reached into the pool during a bike ride to examine material that was already peeling and detached, and that he released it after a park worker instructed him to stop. The reflecting pool had undergone a renovation costing approximately $14 million to $16 million under the Trump Administration, which involved the installation of a new blue lining. After the pool was refilled, issues including peeling of the lining, algae blooms that turned the water green, and other deterioration became apparent.
President Donald Trump has publicly urged Pirro to pursue cases against alleged vandals targeting D.C. renovation projects. On Saturday, the president publicly voiced his disagreement with Pirro in a Truth Social post.
“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, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area,” he said, referencing additional vandalism incidents.
In a subsequent post, Trump shared a video that he described as showing criminal activity at the site. “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,” the president wrote.
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump has just PUBLICLY RELEASED footage of vandalism at the Lincoln Reflecting Pool
“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!”
The left hates nice… pic.twitter.com/ke611fPnMQ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 1, 2026
As of Saturday, the motion to dismiss the indictment against Hearn remains pending before the court. Hearn’s attorneys have described the original case as one that should never have been brought and have called for an apology, while noting that the dismissal does not address the circumstances of the arrest and charging.
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