Former Olympian David Hearn, accompanied by his attorney Norman Eisen, addressed reporters and protestors after his court appearance at Moultrie Courthouse on July 9, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Federal prosecutors have decided to dismiss the vandalism case involving the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool against Hearn. They stated that the damage was due to a faulty installation, not vandalism. Earlier, Hearn, 67, had pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing over $1,000 in damage to the pool. He maintained that he only touched the water out of curiosity last month. However, prosecutors initially accused him of tearing a sealant in the pool following a $14 million renovation.
U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, previously described Hearn’s actions as intentional damage to the pool at the National Mall, a site that the National Park Service worked extensively to restore.
In a filing on Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. revised its position. Initially, they had used reports from the Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Park Police (USPP). The Friday filing stated, “It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents … 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 before the America 250 celebration.”
NPR has contacted the Department of the Interior for a statement.