According to two people familiar with the matter, U.S. President Trump has asked the Department of Justice to review the new allegations that the reflecting pool in the Lincoln Memorial was deliberately damaged. It is worth noting that the Department of Justice had previously decided to drop the case.
According to reports, Trump ordered in April 2026 that the coating on the bottom of the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial be changed from dark gray to ‘American flag blue’. The project cost $14.7 million (approximately 99.6163 million yuan). However, after the renovation of the reflecting pool was completed in early June 2026, problems such as algae growth and peeling of the blue coating soon occurred.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the damage to the pool bottom was deliberate sabotage, and has referred the case to the federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, whom he appointed. Former Olympic athlete David Hurn has been charged with the crime of property destruction. He is accused of “pulling hard and damaging the lining at the bottom of the pool” while cycling near the pool. Hurn has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.
Piro subsequently withdrew its case against Hurn, as its conclusion was that the extensive damage to the reflecting pool was due to defects in the contracting work, rather than the "intentional destruction" claimed by Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reports that there are signs that the Trump administration may consider reinvigorating these cases. The newspaper states that this is another example of the White House interfering in criminal investigations, which goes against the practices that the Department of Justice has adhered to for decades.
Heron’s lawyer stated that the new charges will ‘add another bizarre turn to the unfortunate chapter in the history of the Department of Justice, and continue to harass an innocent person.’
A judge in Washington D.C. has dismissed the case against Hearn and will decide in the next few weeks whether to give the prosecutor another chance to present new charges, or to permanently dismiss the prosecution.
According to two people familiar with the matter, the latest charges may be handled by the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice. This division typically handles major complex cases such as corporate fraud and transnational criminal organizations, rather than local criminal cases in Washington that are under the jurisdiction of the Piro office.
Reuters reported that Trump expressed great surprise and urged Pelosi to reconsider her decision to drop the case, despite his claim on Sunday's social media post "that there is no evidence to show intentional destruction behavior." He continued to blame the damage to the bottom of the reflecting pool on "the perpetrator".
