A Washington DC federal judge has issued a final ruling permanently dismissing the politically charged criminal vandalism case against David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, that was first pursued at the urging of former President Donald Trump. In a ruling published Thursday, Judge Todd Edelman granted the dismissal “with prejudice” — a legal designation that bars federal prosecutors from ever refiling charges against Hearn, addressing defense fears that Trump would continue to pressure the Justice Department to revive the baseless case for political reasons.
The case stems from damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a iconic DC landmark, just weeks after the site completed a $16 million renovation project championed by Trump ahead of the 2026 America 250 Independence Day celebrations. Long plagued by structural leaks and wear, the pool was supposed to be restored to pristine condition through the resealing and painting project. But just days after contractors finished work, large sections of the blue sealant began peeling off, and the pool remained troubled by persistent algae growth.
Within days of the damage becoming public, Trump publicly blamed political vandals for the destruction and specifically singled out Hearn, a politically active canoeing champion who had made campaign donations to Democratic candidates. The Justice Department initially moved forward with charges against Hearn and three other people, but the investigation quickly uncovered new evidence that contradicted the president’s claims. A review by the Department of Interior confirmed the damage was the result of a rushed, improperly executed installation by renovation contractors, who had pushed to finish the project ahead of the high-profile national celebration. By August, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro had formally announced the department would drop all charges, acknowledging the case had no legal merit.
But Trump refused to back down. Immediately after the dismissal was announced, he took to social media to denounce the decision as “a disgrace” and “stupid”, insisting that “the major damage was caused by VANDALS”. He repeatedly pressured Pirro to reverse course and revive the case against Hearn, publicly calling out the former Olympian’s donations to Democrats through ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s main fundraising platform. Trump also attacked Hearn’s lead defense attorney Norm Eisen, a former White House counsel for Barack Obama who worked on Trump’s first impeachment, further highlighting the political motivations behind the push for prosecution.
Hearn has long maintained his innocence, telling the BBC that he was simply riding his bike near the pool when he stopped to touch a section of loose, already peeling lining — an interaction that never caused any damage. If convicted on the original vandalism charges, Hearn faced up to 10 years in federal prison. His legal team argued that even after the case was formally dropped, Hearn faced ongoing risk of being targeted again because of Trump’s relentless political pressure.
Judge Edelman sided with those concerns in his final ruling. “Although the prosecutors assigned to this case have deemed it meritless, the president of the United States has repeatedly disparaged them and pressured them to change course,” Edelman wrote in his order. “Mr Hearn faces the unique possibility that the government will revive this case – one that it has already announced to be meritless – based on political pressure brought by the president of the United States upon his subordinate officers.”
All charges against the three other defendants accused in the case have also been dropped. The ruling marks a rare judicial rebuke of partisan presidential interference in federal law enforcement proceedings, cementing the end of a case that turned a routine infrastructure repair project on the National Mall into a high-profile national political controversy.