The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism saga may have reached an end after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from reviving the case against former Olympian David Hearn.
On Thursday, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman permanently dismissed the charges against the canoeist, who was charged with property destruction after he was spotted with his arm in the pool, touching a chunk of the peeling lining which President Donald J. Trump has insisted was sabotaged by left-wing vandals.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dismissed the initial federal charges in July, citing a “botched installation” by contractors. Her move greatly angered Trump, who said that his longtime ally “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” by letting Hearn off the hook, and now the Barack Obama appointee has slammed the lid on the federal government’s prosecution for good.
The ruling was made with prejudice, meaning that the feds cannot bring the same charges against the 67-year-old again.
Here’s Judge Edelman’s full ruling dismissing *with prejudice* the case against Reflecting Pool defendant David Hearn because “no crime had been committed.”https://t.co/aHW5fEL36O pic.twitter.com/lACIQB03qJ
— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) October 1, 2026
“In the exceptional circumstances posed by this case, the government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense,” Judge Edelman said. “This case must be dismissed with prejudice, and the government must thus be barred from reinstituting this charge against Mr. Hearn.”
“While all defendants deal with some degree of uncertainty regarding the odds of reprosecution after a case has been dismissed,” he wrote, “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.”
“The court agrees with the defense that in securing the indictment against Mr. Hearn, the government shot first and asked questions later,” Edelman added. “Nothing about the grand jury process would prevent it from giving in to the president’s pressure and doing so again.”
Hearn’s attorney, Democrat lawfare king Norm Eisen, cheered Edelman’s ruling.
Trump & his DOJ called Davey Hearn a vandal
Now Davey has won, & the case they built on a botched, rushed paint job is finished for GOOD@DDFund_ @WashLitGroup & Steptoe fought every step of the way
I’ll explain w/ @MSNOWNews @ 7PMET 👇https://t.co/IiB3dAJCdg
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) October 1, 2026
In a statement, Eisen and Hearn’s other lawyers said that the judge’s decision is a victory for an “innocent American seeking justice” and that the case should have never been brought in the first place.
“This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American,” the attorneys said. “This administration chose to pursue an unjust prosecution against Mr. Hearn. It should not get repeated chances to wield the power of criminal prosecution against someone who should never have been prosecuted. Today’s decision protects Mr. Hearn from that threat, allowing him to move forward with his life as he deserves.”
“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” Trump previously remarked in a Truth Social post.
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