More Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool charges dropped by Pirro's office
Since Friday, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office has dropped charges against three more people accused of vandalism.
Amid the Trump administration infighting over a decision to move to dismiss a felony criminal charge against a former Olympian who was accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool , prosecutors in Washington moved to drop charges against three other defendants who were similarly accused of damaging the pool, court filings reviewed by CBS News in D.C. Superior Court show.
In recent days, federal prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office moved to dismiss three misdemeanor cases following a Friday court filing that moved to dismiss vandalism charges against former Olympian David Hearn.
In addition to Hearn, prosecutors dropped misdemeanor charges against three others accused of similar damage: Justin Carreno, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Cameron Thiers, according to court filings. The three were accused of destroying property of value less than $1,000.
CBS News has reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Hearn, a Maryland resident, said he stopped by the pool on June 19 while on a bike ride, and authorities arrested him after he reached down to touch it. He was accused of ripping a piece of sealant from the pool resulting in damage greater than $1,000. He denied any wrongdoing.
Despite accusations from Pirro that Hearn had "damaged the pool," prosecutors on Friday said they dropped the case after new information came to light that the damage was caused by a "botched installation" by a contractor in the rush to finish the project ahead of the America 250 events in Washington. Pirro's office said the Department of the Interior had recently obtained internal documents that show the pool had frequent setbacks due to poor weather and damage occurring to the pool while sealant was being applied.