Former President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the dismissed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case, highlighting a National Park Service employee's account that former Olympian David Hearn "violently" ripped and tugged at the pool’s coating before authorities arrived.
Trump shared a screenshot from court documents on his social media platform, Truth Social, detailing interviews with two National Park Service employees. According to the document, one employee, identified as W-1, stated that Hearn initially used his cellphone to capture images of damage to the pool. The employee then alleged Hearn "knelt, placed both hands into the reflecting pool, below the surface of the water, and started to ‘violently’ rip and tug at a large portion of the blue pool coating."
Witness Account and Federal Indictment
According to the filing, W-1 asked a second NPS employee to contact the police and instructed Hearn to stop touching the coating. Hearn allegedly responded that NPS personnel were "awfully sensitive about the pool" and continued to pull at the coating until National Guard soldiers arrived. Trump cited this witness account as bolstering his claim that some of the damage was deliberate, even after federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the felony charge against Hearn.
Hearn was indicted on July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property. U.S. Park Police alleged that on June 19, Hearn grabbed and pulled at a loose portion of the pool coating and continued after being told to stop by a National Park Service employee. Initial estimates suggested the damage exceeded $1,000.
Prosecutors Seek Dismissal Amid New Information
Prosecutors in Pirro’s office later stated that they had received only "barebones" reports from the Department of the Interior before seeking the indictment and were not initially provided with records detailing broader issues with the pool coating’s installation. Documents produced after the indictment revealed that some of the damage was linked to flawed installation by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings and pressure to finish the project before July 4th events.
"Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment," prosecutors wrote in their request to dismiss the case. The government argued that the newly disclosed evidence made it difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn caused the damage specified in the indictment. Prosecutors asked for the case to be dismissed without prejudice, leaving open the possibility of refiling charges.
Trump has publicly disagreed with the decision to dismiss the charges, at one point stating he "disagree[d] 100%" with the U.S. attorney and accused her of having "choked" under pressure. Hearn’s attorneys had previously asserted that the case "should never have been brought" and accused the administration of wrongly arresting and charging their client. Trump, however, maintained that the witness account demonstrates the damage was not solely due to faulty construction, referencing the government’s court filing to support his assertion. He also alleged other damage around the pool, including the use of an "acid like material" on newly installed grass. Trump acknowledged that contractor error contributed to some of the problems due to rushed renovation ahead of July 4th celebrations, but characterized that damage as limited.