Reflecting Pool Vandalism Prosecutions

4 defendants; all charges dropped, the felony and the three misdemeanors alike · Resolved

In June 2026 the Trump administration finished a $16 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, including a new coating the administration called American Flag Blue. The coating began peeling within weeks. People seen at the pool pulling loose pieces of the lining from the water were arrested and charged with damaging federal property, and a former Olympic canoeist was indicted on a felony. Over the following weeks the cases fell apart. The Department of the Interior eventually produced records showing the damage was the result of a rushed and flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, compounded by an algae bloom, not vandalism. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office moved to drop all four cases. President Trump publicly disputed his own Justice Department's conclusion, said Pirro had 'choked,' and summoned her to the White House. This matter collects the four prosecutions and their common ending. The prosecution was set to grow before it collapsed: a July 20, 2026 consolidation order noted in a footnote that the court expected two additional Reflecting Pool cases, against Nicholas Allan Coffelt and Alexa Anne Roux, to be charged and consolidated. Those cases appear never to have been papered before the government dropped the four existing cases, so the effort that was expanding toward at least six defendants was abandoned within days.

Felony charge

United States v. Hearn (David 'Davey' Hearn)

2026 CF2 010237 · D.C. Superior Court · 2026-07-02

David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympic canoeist, was indicted on July 2, 2026 on a single felony count of destruction of property over a June 19, 2026 incident in which he was alleged to have torn a roughly two-square-foot section of the newly installed liner from the bottom of the pool. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance; the charge carried up to 10 years. On July 31, 2026 the government moved to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, telling the court it learned only after the grand jury that the damage was caused by a flawed contractor installation the Interior Department had not fully disclosed. By a July 29, 2026 order, Judge Todd E. Edelman consolidated Hearn's case with the three misdemeanor cases for management of pretrial discovery. As of the August 4, 2026 docket the motion to dismiss remained pending and a status hearing was set for September 11, 2026; unlike the three misdemeanors, which ended immediately by notice of nolle prosequi, the felony had not yet been formally dismissed.

pending_dismissal → Full case page

Government's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment (Jul. 31, 2026) Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Jul. 16, 2026) Order consolidating all four cases, Judge Edelman (Jul. 29, 2026)

Misdemeanor charges

United States v. Carreno (Justin Toribio Carreno)

2026 CMD 010450 · D.C. Superior Court · Judge Todd E. Edelman · 2026-06-20

Justin Carreno was arrested on June 20, 2026 and charged with misdemeanor destruction of property valued at less than $1,000, after officers said they saw him place his hands in the water and pull pieces of the blue lining from the bottom of the pool. He has said the arrest cost him two jobs. On July 31, 2026 the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a Government's Notice of Nolle Prosequi, signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro through AUSA Michael P. Spence; the case was set for a status hearing on August 4, 2026.

dismissed → Full case page

Government's Notice of Nolle Prosequi (filed Jul. 31, 2026) Gerstein / statement of facts (arrest, Jun. 20, 2026)