US moves to drop case against Olympian over Lincoln Pool damage
What's new: prosecutors now blame a flawed contractor installation and a rush before America 250 events, not vandalism.
Federal prosecutors in Washington moved Friday to dismiss charges against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who had been accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a filing in D.C. Superior Court, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro wrote that new information received after the indictment significantly weakened the case and showed the June damage stemmed from a flawed installation by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings. Pirro also pointed to a rush to finish the renovation before America 250 events around Independence Day 2026. Hearn, 67, had been charged in early July with felony destruction of property after officials initially treated the leak as vandalism.