Jeanine Pirro seeks to drop charges against Olympian David Hearn, admits reflecting pool damage was ‘flawed installation’
By Josh Christenson
Published July 31, 2026, 5:33 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is moving to dismiss charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, revealing in a Friday court filing that the damage was, in fact, “the result of flawed installation by the contractor.”
Pirro’s office submitted the motion to dismiss after Hearn had pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony count of destruction of property for the alleged June 19 incident.
Video footage posted on X shortly after the incident showed Hearn being cuffed by Park Police next to his bicycle after noting the peeled-back lining was “really funny.”
Hearn did tug at the sealant at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool and was told to stop by authorities, the July 31 filing shows, but the lining had “[a]lmost immediately” begun peeling after the work was completed after the Virginia-based company got a no-bid contract for the renovations.
That was due to “overspraying and a failure of the coatings to bond” as part of a rushed job to finish before Independence Day festivities.
And the Department of Interior (DOI) “provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case,” Pirro’s motion also noted.
“It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026,” the court filing stated.
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https://nypost.com/2026/07/31/us-news/jeanine-pirro-seeks-to-drop-charges-against-olympian-david-hearn-admits-reflecting-pool-damage-was-flawed-installation/
