President Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, describing damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as «a pure case of VANDALISM» even as federal prosecutors moved to drop a felony charge against a former U.S. Olympian.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said he disagreed «100%» with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro over the handling of the case. «I don’t know what she was thinking?» he wrote. He acknowledged there may have been contractor issues, but insisted the destruction was deliberate. «There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!»
The president also pointed to the numbers «86 47» found etched into the grass near the memorial about a week before the incident involving Hearn. U.S. Park Police had previously discovered the markings, which have become a politically charged slogan directed at Trump. Trump and his supporters have argued the phrase amounts to a call for his assassination.
The case centered on David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympian accused of pulling up a loose section of the Reflecting Pool’s protective lining on June 19 after being told by a National Park Service employee to stop. Hearn was indicted on July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property, with authorities initially estimating the damage at more than $1,000.
On Friday, Pirro’s office asked a federal judge to dismiss the charge. Prosecutors said newly disclosed reports from the Department of the Interior revealed numerous flaws in the renovation project, including evidence that the newly installed lining began peeling days after installation. «Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,» the motion said.
The filing said the Interior Department initially provided «barebones» reports and did not disclose documents showing the coating had begun failing almost immediately after construction. Prosecutors wrote that had the department been forthcoming with information in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment. It was only after the indictment was returned, they said, that the department provided additional documents indicating the damage was the result of flawed installation by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings and the rush to complete the project before events tied to the America 250 celebration in the weeks around July 4, 2026.
Court records show Atlantic Industrial Coatings received a no-bid contract worth more than $14 million to install a new protective lining across the Reflecting Pool’s 68,000-square-foot floor. The project began in early May but was slowed by rain and complications with the pool’s expansion joints, adding pressure to finish the work before the Independence Day festivities marking America’s 250th anniversary.
Problems surfaced almost immediately after the work ended. Two days after the project was completed on June 9, a National Park Service engineer reported that sections of the new lining were already peeling. In a June 11 email, the engineer cited concerns about overspray along the pool’s perimeter and warned that it could leave a strip vulnerable to peeling. The contractor, the engineer wrote, would not confirm at the time whether that was a risk.
The charge against Hearn was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could bring the case again in the future. His legal team accused the government of rushing to prosecute. «The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn 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. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,» attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin said in a statement.
Trump, in his remarks, rejected the government’s conclusion that construction problems were mostly responsible. He said the damage amounted to vandalism that also included the grass and other parts of the surrounding area.
