Overview
- David “Davey” Hearn entered a not guilty plea Thursday in D.C. Superior Court after a grand jury indicted him on a felony destruction-of-property count for allegedly ripping about two square feet of the new blue liner.
- Federal crews have begun draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again to remove debris and perform warranty repairs after sections of the newly applied blue coating peeled and algae blooms appeared.
- Prosecutors have filed misdemeanor charges against at least three other people who are accused of removing small pieces of the coating, and the U.S. Attorney’s office says it reviewed multiple arrests tied to the pool.
- Reporting and experts raise technical and procurement questions: the fast-tracked, largely no-bid project cost roughly $14–16 million, left century-old circulation pipes in place, and used a darker liner that experts say can warm water and encourage algae growth.
- Preservation groups have sued under the National Historic Preservation Act and House lawmakers have sought contracting records, creating parallel legal and oversight fights that could affect repairs, vendor responsibility and future National Park Service projects.