Justice department admits reflecting pool damage not caused by vandals as it moves to drop charges against Olympian – as it happened

The brief

The US Justice Department has moved to drop charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. The charges were dropped after the Department of the Interior provided documents indicating that the damage was caused by flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The incident occurred in June 2026. The decision to drop charges comes after the US Attorney's office in Washington DC reviewed new evidence. The case has been dismissed by the DC Superior Court.

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