SerpApi.Org
Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn has been facing charges of vandalising the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. While his trial date has been scheduled for September 28, a DC Superior Court judge warned that the repair work at the site could risk the government’s case against him.
According to the Washington Post, Judge Todd E. Edelman stated that the government is “operating at its own peril” in David Hearn’s case if the monumental site is changed or not properly preserved before the defense’s expert can examine and collect samples from it. The report states that the Olympians’ attorneys filed a motion on Thursday to dismiss the indictment against him.
They claimed that the portion of the Reflecting Pool that Hearn is charged with damaging was not preserved. In the court documents, the attorneys reportedly stated, “Despite the importance of the pool liner to the case, in the brief period since June 19, 2026, the same government that presented and returned the indictment against Mr. Hearn has fenced off the scene, begun draining the pool yet again, and publicly announced its intention to repair the very liner whose condition is at issue.”
The motion states that an attorney was sent to the site for an inspection and “confirmed that spoliation of evidence has taken place.” Hearn’s defense legal team argued that he was entitled to use his own experts to test the site, but “he cannot do so once the government has resurfaced the Reflecting Pool.”
During a status hearing on Monday, Edelman denied the defense’s motion but challenged the government as to whether the status quo of the site was maintained. Meanwhile, Assistant US Attorneys Kevin Reddington and Kadian Carter remained doubtful about the pool being renovated.
They claimed that the renovation work was planned to give the defense’s expert enough time to inspect the site and that they were “doing the best” they could to preserve the site along with the Interior Department.
Defense attorney Mary Dohrmann stated that the team expects their expert to examine and collect samples from the Reflecting Pool at the earliest possible this week. Edelman also told the prosecutors that if there were any changes to the site, the government could face sanctions.
“I understand you, personally, are not in control,” Edelman said, further acknowledging that the executive department has the ultimate authority. “There may well not be any prejudice,” she added.
The 67-year-old Olympian was indicted earlier this month for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. However, he pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, another Washington Post analysis also claimed that peeling could be a result of application flaws.
