Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case Dismissed
A judge has officially dismissed the case against former Olympian David Hearn, who faced allegations of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which had undergone a costly $14 million renovation in June. This ruling, issued on Thursday, effectively ends a legal dispute that spanned several months.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman’s decision came after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s controversial move to drop federal charges in July, which had drawn criticism from President Donald Trump. Unlike Pirro’s dismissal, Edelman’s ruling was made with prejudice, meaning the Department of Justice cannot pursue the same charges against Hearn in the future.
Judge Edelman denied prosecutors’ request to keep the door open for potential recharges if new evidence emerged, stating that current findings suggested the damage was due to issues with the renovation itself rather than Hearn’s actions.
In his remarks, Edelman emphasized that it wouldn’t be fair for the government to continue pursuing a case that had already seen missteps, noting, “This case must be dismissed with prejudice, and the government must thus be barred from reinstituting this charge against Mr. Hearn.”
Hearn’s legal team celebrated the judge’s ruling as a triumph for an innocent individual seeking justice. They expressed concern that the case should never have been filed: “This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American,” they said.
Hearn had been arrested on June 19 and was indicted on a felony charge for allegedly damaging the pool’s lining. Prosecutors claimed he was seen pulling at a loose section of the pool, which reportedly led to around $1,000 in damage, even after being told to stop by National Park Service personnel.
Throughout the entire saga, Trump has been vocal, asserting that the pool did experience vandalism and criticized the decision to drop the case as “hasty.” He stated that there were clear signs of damage and even cited witness accounts supporting his claims.
In light of the dismissal, the DOJ had previously sought to withdraw the indictment after revelations regarding the poor quality of the renovation work done by the contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which was rushed for upcoming celebrations. They concluded that Hearn’s actions were not the cause of the damage, as the materials he touched were already deteriorating.
Following this development, Hearn requested to have the charges dismissed permanently to prevent any possibility of retrial in the future.
