Reflecting Pool Damage Was ‘Botched’ Job, Not Vandalism, Prosecutors Say

President Trump had repeatedly accused vandals of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. On Friday, prosecutors acknowledged it was “the result of flawed installation” and moved to dismiss charges against a former Olympian.

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David Hearn, center, pleaded not guilty this month to a felony charge of vandalism. Prosecutors had accused him of ripping the Reflecting Pool’s lining.Credit...Rod Lamkey/Associated Press

By Madaleine Rubin

July 31, 2026Updated 6:47 p.m. ET

Federal prosecutors on Friday acknowledged that contractors hired by the Trump administration had botched the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and sought to drop charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist who was one of several people accused of vandalizing the landmark.The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington said in a court filing that it had received documents showing that the damage to the pool “was the result of a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” on July 4.The U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, a Trump ally, asked a Superior Court judge to drop charges against Mr. Hearn, 67. He was one of seven people facing charges in connection with what President Trump had claimed, without evidence, were efforts to sabotage his administration’s renovation of the pool.“Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the reflecting pool to vandalism,” Ms. Pirro wrote in her motion to the court.Mr. Hearn, who pleaded not guilty last month, was the only person known to be facing a felony charge, rather than a misdemeanor. It was unclear if vandalism-related charges against other defendants were also being dismissed. Ms. Pirro’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.Mr. Hearn’s trial on a charge of destruction of property had been scheduled to begin on Sept. 28. In a statement on Friday, lawyers representing him said that the charges should never have been brought.“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong,” said Mr. Hearn’s lawyers, Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin, adding that the administration “owes Mr. Hearn an apology.”The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Clarence Williams contributed reporting.