The Justice Department on Monday dropped charges against three more people accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, widening an abrupt reversal in a case that had become a high-profile priority for the Trump administration.
Prosecutors led by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro filed a nolle prosequi in the cases against Cameron Theirs, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno, according to court records. The filing means prosecutors will no longer pursue the charges.
The decision follows Friday's dismissal of the government's case against three-time Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who had been accused alongside the three defendants of damaging the recently renovated Reflecting Pool.
All four had initially been charged with destruction of property valued at less than $1,000. Hearn's case later escalated when a Washington, D.C., grand jury indicted him on a felony destruction of property charge carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
After dropping the case against Hearn, Pirro's office said contractors responsible for work on the Reflecting Pool—not the defendants—were to blame for overspraying and delamination that damaged the site.
Defense attorneys said the dismissals came only after their clients had already suffered significant consequences.
Jamison Koehler, who represented Dennison-Gibby, told USA Today his client was relieved the case was over, "but this was a horrible experience for her."
Koehler said Dennison-Gibby "was then terrified to learn a couple days later that the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world, had said that she and others charged were sick people who faced jail time."
He added, "Can you imagine being singled out by the president?"
David Benowitz, attorney for Carreno, told The Washington Post that his client lost his job as a government contractor and suffered reputational damage because of the prosecution. He said the charge "never should have been brought in the first place."
The dismissals represent a dramatic change from Pirro's position just weeks ago. When announcing Hearn's indictment, she accused him of removing sealant from the bottom of the Reflecting Pool with his bare hands and indicated additional prosecutions were likely. At the time, Pirro said investigators were reviewing other cases and that "some of them will be misdemeanors and some of them could be less, like a violation."
President Donald Trump criticized the Justice Department's decision on Monday, suggesting Pirro had backed down under pressure.
"Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department," Trump said, appearing to refer to D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman. "And I guess she choked. I don't know what the hell happened."
Trump has repeatedly maintained that the damage to the Reflecting Pool was "a pure case of VANDALISM."
