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Judge permanently dismisses criminal case against Olympian David Hearn over Reflecting Pool vandalism
Overview
A US judge in Washington DC has permanently dismissed criminal charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was previously accused by the Trump administration of vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Judge Todd Edelman ruled the case dismissed "with prejudice" to protect Hearn from potential political pressure by US President Donald Trump to revive the meritless prosecution. New evidence from the Department of the Interior revealed that damage to the pool was actually caused by flawed contractor installation rather than vandalism.
Key points
- Judge Todd Edelman ordered the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn dismissed "with prejudice", preventing prosecutors from refiling it.
- The Justice Department previously dropped the case after the Department of the Interior found that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by flawed contractor installation.
- President Donald Trump publicly disagreed with the decision to drop the charges and urged prosecutors to target Hearn due to his past donations to Democrats.
- Judge Edelman cited potential political pressure from the president as the reason for making the dismissal permanent.
- Cases against three other individuals accused of vandalising the pool were also dropped.