Overview
- A D.C. Superior Court judge on Monday set a jury trial to begin Sept. 28 for David Hearn, who was indicted on July 2 on a felony count of destruction of property for allegedly pulling up two square feet of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool liner.
- Hearn’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss after a July 16 inspection of the drained pool showed a section of the liner they say is missing despite a written preservation demand sent to prosecutors on July 8.
- Judge Todd Edelman warned the government to preserve the pool and told prosecutors they risk undermining their case if remedial work continues without allowing defense experts to examine materials.
- Prosecutors say they asked the Interior Department to hold the site but do not control National Park Service repair activity, and FBI and Park Service crews have been conducting forensic surveys and repairs while the basin has been drained.
- Independent engineers and multiple news reports have raised that the dark coating and partial circulation work used in the fast‑tracked $14–16 million renovation may have failed, which could shift the dispute from vandalism to installation and procurement questions that Congress and preservation groups are now probing.