Prosecutors request dismissal of Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against Olympian due to installation flaws

WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors are requesting the dismissal of an indictment charging a former Olympian with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

What we know:

The documents, filed in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, claim the damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of flawed installation by the contractor and a rush to complete the project. 

Three-time Summer Olympian David Hearn pleaded not guilty to charges that he deliberately damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in early July. The 67-year-old Bethesda, Maryland, resident was indicted on a single felony count of property destruction after the multi-million dollar renovation project faced setbacks. 

READ MORE | Former Olympian David Hearn pleads not guilty in Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool damage case

Six other people were also arrested on misdemeanor charges after President Donald Trump claimed vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and cut the newly installed liner with a box cutter. 

The allegations came after workers used chemicals to curb an algal bloom in the pool. Shortly after, chunks of the blue liner were seen floating on the surface of the water. 

Court documents allege flawed installation 

Dig deeper:

According to Friday’s motion, the Department of the Interior (DOI) provided documents — after Hearn’s indictment was returned — that indicated the damage to the Reflecting Pool was due to flawed installation by Atlantic Industrial Coatings and a rush to finish the job before America 250 and Independence Day events.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. said it is moving to dismiss the indictment “because the recently-produced materials significantly undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment initially supplied by the DOI and U.S. Park Police.”

In the motion, the Attorney’s Office said it received “barebones police reports” from U.S. Park Police, despite the government requesting “everything,” including all reports, witness statements and surveillance footage. 

The motion further details how U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and other supervisors with the Attorney’s Office met with DOI employees at the Reflecting Pool on July 1. During that time, officials noted the pool was filled with water, making it hard to see the condition of the floor.

The Attorney’s Office presented the evidence to a grand jury, “armed with only the DOI’s representations that defendant caused more than $1,000 of damage to the Reflecting Pool,” the motion said.

“Notably, [the Attorney’s Office] was not in possession of any information from DOI indicating that any damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by anything other than the actions of the defendant and other vandals who damaged the pool’s lining,” the motion reads.

During another visit to the Reflecting Pool on July 17, officials with the attorney’s office noted extensive damage in the drained pool and ultimately requested additional documents from the DOI about how the pool was lined.

The additional documents, which took days to review, indicated a “rushed and flawed installation process, with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process, and extensive peeling of the lining throughout the Reflecting Pool,” the motion said.