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In a court filing on Friday, the office of the US attorney in Washington DC, Jeanine Pirro , moved to dismiss charges against David Hearn , a former Olympian her office had accused on vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.

In asking to dismiss the criminal indictment, Pirro’s office told the DC Superior Court that “it was not until after the return of the indictment,” that the Department of the Interior “provided additional documents” to prosecutors “indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (“AIC”), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.”

“It was not until after these documents were produced,” Pirro’s office added, that her office “first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.”

“The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn should never have been brought,” Hearn’s lawyers, Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin said in a statement. “Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology.”

The government’s request to dismiss the case against Hearn said that when Pirro inspected the pool on 17 July, “as a defense expert inspected the now-drained Reflecting Pool” that she “immediately noted extensive damage throughout” the pool and requested “all records regarding the installation of the lining.”

“These documents 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 filing added.