US says contractor caused Reflecting Pool damage, drops case against former Olympian

The US Justice Department has moved to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, citing contractor error as the cause of damage.

​Flawed work by a contractor caused the liner of the ‌newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to peel, President Donald Trump's administration said in a court filing on ‌Friday. In the filing, the Justice Department moved ‌to drop its case against David "Davey" Hearn, 67, a former U.S. Olympian who had been accused of vandalizing the ⁠pool. Issues ​at the ⁠pool had become a flashpoint over Trump's efforts to remake ⁠Washington. The U.S. Interior Department provided documents "indicating that damage to ​the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was ⁠the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic ⁠Industrial ​Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the ⁠America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026," ⁠the Justice ⁠Department said in the filing.