United States v. Carreno

Case Overview

Justin Toribio Carreno was arrested around 1:00 p.m. on June 20, 2026 at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and charged with misdemeanor destruction of property valued at less than $1,000 (Criminal No. 2026 CMD 10450, Judge Todd E. Edelman). According to the police statement of facts, Metropolitan Police officers responded to a report of an individual peeling paint off the bottom of the pool; an Oklahoma City Police Department officer had already detained him, and an officer reported seeing him reach into the water and pull up a piece of the blue lining. He was charged at arrest with destruction of public property, defacing property, and destroying government property, and has said the arrest cost him two jobs. On July 31, 2026 the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a Government's Notice of Nolle Prosequi, signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro through Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Spence; the case was set for a status hearing on August 4, 2026. All four Reflecting Pool cases were dropped after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office concluded, based on records the Department of the Interior produced only later, that the widespread damage to the pool's newly installed 'American Flag Blue' lining resulted from a rushed and flawed installation by the contractor (Atlantic Industrial Coatings), compounded by an algae bloom, rather than vandalism. President Trump publicly disputed his own Justice Department's conclusion and criticized Pirro. This is a D.C. Superior Court (local) matter, not federal, so it is not on CourtListener and is entered manually. Defendant is represented by David Benowitz (Price Benowitz LLP). The case was consolidated with the Hearn felony and the two other misdemeanors before Judge Todd E. Edelman for management of pretrial discovery (consolidation orders of July 20 and 21, 2026).