A judge has not yet ruled on whether the DOJ's vandalism charges against David Hearn can be dismissed without prejudice.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
Deadline: White HouseSep 7, 2026
As of 2026-09-07, the judge had not yet ruled on whether the dismissal could be without prejudice.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… General Kurtling and Tom Nichols, to be continued. Thank you for joining us today. We will be right back. Today was another day in court for Olympian David Hearn, but still no conclusion to the Trump administration's campaign against him. A judge today not yet ruling on whether the DOJ's trumped up vandalism charges against Hearn can be tossed out without prejudice, which means they could never be brought again. A judge previously dismissed the case, and U.S. Attorney Janine Pirro admitted the damaged pool liner was due to a botched installation, but she sought to dismiss the case without prejudice, leaving the door …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. KPBS (Aug 10) reported that Judge Todd Edelman had granted the DOJ's dismissal but had yet to weigh in on whether the case could be reopened, with prosecutors seeking dismissal without prejudice and Hearn's lawyers seeking with prejudice.[4]
Supports. UPI reported that Edelman in early August granted the DOJ's request but held off on deciding the prejudice question.[5]
Supports. AP reported the judge ruled on the with-prejudice dismissal on October 1, nearly a month after hearing attorneys' arguments, indicating the ruling was still pending in early September.[1]
Context. The judge's with-prejudice dismissal on October 1 came after the posted date, so it does not make the September 7 claim false.[1][6][7]
Context. Reuters (Sept 10) and PolitiFact (Aug 4) confirm the DOJ's July 31 motion to dismiss but do not address the pending prejudice question directly.[2][3]
Sources
7 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 3 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Reflecting Pool: DC judge permanently dismisses case ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Trump administration charges in some high-profile cases falterreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Trump falsely blames vandals in Reflecting Pool casepolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 4After his Reflecting Pool vandalism case is dismissed, David Hearn ...kpbs.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Judge bars future Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against Olympianupi.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6A judge permanently dismisses former Olympian's Reflecting Pool chargesnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 7Judge permanently dismisses Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearnabcnews.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Department of Justice moved to dismiss criminal charges against David Hearn on July 31, 2026.True
- A judge previously dismissed the case against David Hearn.Mixed
- The Department of Justice filed to dismiss criminal charges against David Hearn for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.True
- The release of the special counsel's report regarding Judge Cannon is still pending before the appeals court.True
- David Hearn was arrested by U.S. Park Police on June 19, 2026, for destruction of public property.True