The US government moves to dismiss criminal charges against a former Olympian it accused of vandalism connected to damage to Washington DC’s Reflecting Pool. In a court filing submitted on Friday, prosecutors seek to end the case and also acknowledge that the pool’s condition was affected by earlier actions taken to meet a July 4 deadline. Multiple outlets report the filing says President Donald Trump’s push to have the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 contributed to problems that later became associated with wrongdoing.
The reports also state that the government’s new position contrasts with earlier assertions that vandals were to blame. Rather than continuing to pursue the former Olympian, the government’s filing indicates that the circumstances around the damage and the steps taken to prepare the pool complicate the basis for the criminal allegations. The filings and reporting describe the matter as effectively reattributing the cause of the damage away from the accused person toward a broader set of preparation and timing issues tied to the July 4 effort.
