A felony vandalism prosecution that drew national attention has collapsed after the US Justice Department concluded the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s recent renovation work was flawed from the start.
Federal authorities have dropped the case against David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympian accused of damaging the landmark pool. Hearn had been charged in federal court with felony vandalism, a count that carried a potential ten-year prison sentence.
Federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro announced the charges in a widely publicized press briefing earlier this month, saying witnesses had seen Hearn “forcefully and violently” pulling up the pool’s newly installed liner on 19 June.
But in a court filing yesterday, Ms Pirro said new information “undermine[s] the evidentiary basis for the indictment,” and she moved to dismiss the case.
According to the filing, recently uncovered documents indicate the damage at the Reflecting Pool “was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented” by the Interior Department.
President Donald Trump had personally overseen the project at the Reflecting Pool, including the installation of an “American flag blue” liner.
The work was part of a broader series of “beautification” efforts around Washington that Mr Trump ordered in advance of the 4 July celebration marking America’s 250th anniversary.
The painting and sealing portion of the project was projected to cost at least $14 million.
Not long after the makeover, however, the renovation began showing signs of trouble. The coating started peeling, and algae turned the water a murky green—problems Mr Trump repeatedly attributed to vandals, though he offered no evidence.
Hearn, who competed in canoeing in three Olympic Summer Games, told US media he stopped at the refurbished Reflecting Pool after a long bike ride and noticed a section of liner that appeared partially detached.
He said he reached into the water to feel it, and as he was preparing to leave, US Park Police arrested him.
“I didn’t vandalise anything,” Hearn told The Washington Post last month. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realised what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
His attorneys had pressed to have the prosecution thrown out, arguing the case reflected a politicised justice system under Mr Trump.
In a statement yesterday, lawyers Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin said the case “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,” they said.
“The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr Hearn an apology.”
Before the dismissal, Mr Trump had warned of tough punishment for anyone accused of targeting his high-profile renovation efforts.
“Please remember that there is a ten-year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” the president said in June.
National Park Service law enforcement told AFP in June that five people were arrested for vandalism and five others were issued federal citations.
