On July 2, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced she had "tremendous evidence" that David Hearn, a 67-year-old former competitive canoeist, had deliberately caused over $1,000 in damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, last Friday, Pirro withdrew the charge against Hearn, admitting the initial claim was untrue.

The case centered on damage to the pool's blue liner, which was installed under an unusual no-bid contract by a company new to federal government work. News outlets had reported parts of the liner were coming loose as early as June 18, the day before Hearn's arrest and two weeks before his indictment.

According to a Park Police report cited by Pirro, Hearn noticed "a big piece of material flapping in the water and began to grab at it," with a witness stating he "began to rip and pull at a chunk of liner material." Two National Park Service (NPS) employees said Hearn was yanking at the flap and "further damaging this compromised area." Despite this, all parties agreed the liner was already coming loose, and the dispute was whether Hearn had "maliciously" worsened the damage.

Hearn himself stated, "I didn't destroy or break or peel anything," explaining he had only reached into the pool out of curiosity during a bike ride.

Initially, the Interior Department and Pirro claimed the damage was "entirely caused by vandals." However, internal documents obtained later revealed the damage resulted from a "rushed and botched installation" by the contractor. These issues had been discussed in press reports weeks before Pirro publicly accused Hearn of felony vandalism.

Pirro's reversal, which reportedly angered President Donald Trump, has been interpreted as a contradiction to the administration's earlier claims about the cause of the damage.

Sources

Reason: Dropped cases against alleged Reflecting Pool vandals reflected a rush to judgment