DOJ moves to drop charges against former Olympian for vandalizing reflecting pool in DC- National & International News -

DOJ moves to drop charges against former Olympian for vandalizing reflecting pool

On June 19, former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, 67, was arrested after pausing his bike ride to inspect pieces of liner peeling up from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The bottom of the pool had recently been painted and relined by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a firm with no previous federal contracts which was awarded a no-bid contract by the Trump administration. The new lining cost more than $14 million.

Soon after the pool was refilled with water, the pool soon bloomed with unsightly algae. US Parks employees addressed the algae problem by pouring thousands of gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the pool. It has been noted that hydrogen peroxide in high concentration can act as a paint stripper. Soon after, the lining began to peel up in large chunks and float to the surface.

When Hearn paused to touch one of those pieces of detached liner, he was cautioned by a US Parks employee. Then the National Guard and US Parks employees detained him for 5 hours.

As embarrassment continued to build over the renovation debacle, Trump and his administration officials On July 2, the Department of Justice filed vandalism charges against Hearn. The federal charge carried a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

The Department of Justice submitted a filing today to withdraw vandalism charges against Hearn. The filing cited “newly discovered information” that the damage to the pool liner was caused by faulty and rushed installation rather than vandalism. Today’s filing made no mention of the hydrogen peroxide dumping as a possible contributing factor.