United States v. Dennison-Gibby

Case Overview

Sophie Elaine Dennison-Gibby was arrested around 2:53 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 10494, Judge Todd E. Edelman). According to the police statement of facts, U.S. Park Police responded to a report of a woman peeling up a piece of the pool; a Montana Department of Corrections officer said he witnessed her remove a piece of the pool paint, and during a search an Oklahoma City officer found an additional piece of the pool liner in her purse. Her defense has said she picked up pieces that were floating in the pool. She was charged under a federal cultural-resource regulation and D.C. destruction and defacement statutes. 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 Jamison Koehler (Koehler Law). 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).