Background: The Lincoln Memorial and drained Reflecting Pool as seen from the Washington Monument on July 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Emily Alff/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images). Inset left: Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn listens as his attorney Norman Eisen speaks after he pleaded not guilty to allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.). Inset right: President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
The Trump administration may soon face a lawsuit from a famed former Olympian who was accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
While the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, has recently moved to drop the felony charge of destruction of property against 67-year-old David Hearn, the man’s lawyer suggested the situation is far from over.
“All options are on the table. For now, we’re focused on getting the case dismissed,” Norman Eisen, an attorney for Hearn and the chairman of the Democracy Defenders Fund, told NBC affiliate WRC. “The counsel team is actively discussing what, if any, next steps will follow that.”
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On June 19, Hearn stopped at the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial during a bicycle ride, according to the grand jury indictment handed down on July 2. Authorities alleged that he “pulled up and removed a portion of the pool’s bottom liner.” Hearn has maintained he “touched a piece of coating that had already detached, released it when asked to do so by a park employee, and left the pool in no worse condition in which he found it.”
In announcing the indictment, Pirro said that “deliberate acts of destruction set back real progress” from President Donald Trump’s renovation efforts for the nation’s 250th anniversary. “Vandalism at treasured places like the Reflecting Pool is an affront to our shared history and the dignity of our national heritage. These monuments belong to all of us, and we will protect them—and hold accountable those who seek to deface or diminish them.”
Hearn has held, however, that the liner was already damaged and that the government had no evidence of any wrongdoing — especially because the pool was subsequently drained. Hearn’s attorneys also alleged that there were “irregularities” in the grand jury’s proceedings leading up to his indictment.
The former canoeist pleaded not guilty to the charge and filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, saying, “The spoliation of evidence caused by the government’s actions is not hypothetical or prospective. Draining the pool is itself an alteration of the evidence: It changes the coating’s environment, dries and shrinks compromised liner material, disturbs and removes detached fragments along with debris, and subjects the pool bottom to foot traffic, equipment, and cleaning by the very agency whose employees are the witnesses who would serve as fact witnesses at trial. And each day of continued work degrades what remains.”
On Friday, Pirro filed a motion to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, saying that the damage to the pool was due to “flawed installation by the contractor and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” ahead of Independence Day.
Trump — who nominated Pirro to become the U.S. attorney for D.C. little more than a year ago — said in no uncertain terms that he disagreed with the decision.
“I don’t know what she was thinking?” the president wrote on social media. “To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,” he continued before adding, “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
The case against Hearn will not be dismissed until a judge decides. A status hearing is scheduled for Thursday, and for Hearn and his legal team, that is the priority.
“There’ll be a time and a place to discuss what the experience has been like for him. It has been difficult, as you can imagine, but he’s keeping his attitude of fighting back strong,” Eisen told the local TV station. “As you can imagine, when the most powerful people in the world say you could be going to prison for up to 10 years, make false claims about you, that’s profoundly unsettling.”
“But Davey Hearn is a three-time Olympian, multiple times world champion and canoeist. And he is maintaining a fighting attitude,” the attorney added. “What other choice does he have? He cares about this case obviously for himself, but it’s of the utmost importance to our democracy to fight back when innocent people are targeted by the regime. So, his attitude is to continue fighting for justice.”
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