Earlier this evening, the federal government and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped all charges against Davey Hearn. For Davey, his family, his friends, his teammates, his fellow athletes, and the many people who know his character and his lifetime of service, this is a moment of relief. However, this prosecution remains a moment that should trouble all of us.

I have known Davey Hearn for decades. Davey was my coach, my mentor, and my friend. I also served as Chair of USA Canoe/Kayak, the national governing body for Olympic canoe and kayak sports in the United States. Through that role, and through many years in the paddling community, I saw firsthand what so many people already know: Davey Hearn has spent his life representing the United States with honor, mentoring athletes, caring for public spaces, protecting our rivers, and giving back to the community. Those facts are why this prosecution was so disturbing from the beginning.

After Davey was indicted, the government publicly portrayed him as someone who had maliciously damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Federal officials spoke as though Davey had definitively caused damage and said the government would prove its case with experts.

However, the government’s own filing this evening tells a very different story. In moving to dismiss the indictment, the government acknowledged that damage to the Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was “the result of flawed installation by the contractor” and that the government later learned the damage was “the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented.” The filing further states that it is “difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” This admission by U.S. Attorney Pirro is exactly the point many of us were making all along.

This administration should never have tried to make Davey Hearn the face of its failed renovation project. The federal government should never have treated a U.S. Olympian, World Champion, coach, volunteer, and longtime steward of public lands as a serious felony defendant when the facts never supported that narrative.

This case is also a reminder of why prosecutorial discretion matters so much.

Prosecutors hold enormous power. That power must be exercised with judgment, restraint, fairness, and humility. A prosecutor’s job is not simply to charge first and sort out the facts later. It is to make sure that the government’s immense power is used only when the evidence, the law, and justice support it. That evaluation or judgment does not appear to have happened here at all.

Davey’s incredible legal team raised serious concerns from the beginning. In their motion to dismiss, they argued that the Reflecting Pool liner was already failing, that key evidence had not been preserved before the pool was drained and altered, and that the government could not fairly attribute felony-level damage to Davey. The government’s own motion to dismiss today now confirms this central problem: damage was nonexistent.

Standing up in moments like this is important. It is important because an indictment is not a small thing. An arrest is not a small thing. A felony charge is not a small thing. Being publicly accused, forced to defend yourself, and made the face of a government narrative can change a person’s life, even when the case is later dismissed. That is why we cannot stay silent when someone is being wrongly prosecuted. We cannot wait until after the government admits it was wrong to say that fairness matters. We have to say it while it matters most.

I am grateful to everyone who stood with Davey. I am grateful to the friends, athletes, paddlers, cyclists, neighbors, lawyers, journalists, and community members who showed up, shared the facts, asked hard questions, and refused to let the government’s initial narrative go unanswered. Most of all, I am grateful that Davey no longer has to carry the weight of this prosecution.

Davey Hearn should be known for what he has done throughout his life: representing our country with honor, winning world championships for the United States, building our sport, mentoring generations of athletes, caring for public lands and waterways, and giving back to the community.

The charges have been dropped. Davey has been vindicated. And I am proud that we stood with Davey.