Setback for the Department of Justice: Federal judge dismisses case against kayaker accused of vandalizing the pool at the Lincoln Memorial

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman formally dismissed the felony vandalism case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn on Thursday, after federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro withdrew the charge related to the alleged damage caused to the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool. "Given the positions of the parties, the Court discerns no reason why this felony case should remain pending against Mr. Hearn while the parties litigate, and the Court resolves, the remaining legal issues," Edelman wrote, and did not determine whether that decision would permanently prevent prosecutors from refiling the same charge in the future.

Federal prosecutors have argued that the damage around the reflecting pool was caused by excessive spraying by a government contractor and have also criticized the Department of the Interior for what they described as a lack of cooperation during the investigation. Pirro's office dropped the charges last week after securing an indictment against Hearn for willful destruction of property, a felony, during a visit to the recently restored reflecting pool.

Following Pirro's decision to drop the criminal charges against a former Olympic athlete, President Donald Trump publicly criticized her and even rejected her conclusion that the damage was the result of construction defects rather than acts of vandalism. Another member of the Republican administration who lashed out at Pirro was Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who questioned the prosecutor's conclusions and stated that his department had provided prosecutors with "expert testimony and eyewitness accounts regarding the damage caused by vandals."

The decision represented a setback for the Department of Justice, which had previously backed Trump's claims and had framed the legal proceedings as an effort to protect one of Washington's historic monuments.