Adam Van Grack Featured in Nationwide Coverage Following Davey Hearn’s Arraignment
July 9, 2026
Rockville City Councilmember Adam Van Grack was featured in widespread national television and print coverage following the arraignment of three-time U.S. Olympian and world champion canoeist Davey Hearn on a felony charge involving the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Adam was one of the organizers of the rally that brought athletes, paddlers, friends, and community members to D.C. Superior Court in support of Hearn. After Hearn pleaded not guilty, Van Grack stood behind him with other community members during the press conference outside the courthouse and spoke with national and local media about Hearn’s character, his decades of community service, and concerns about the extraordinary nature and proportionality of the prosecution.
Adam, a former chair of USA Canoe/Kayak who has known Hearn for decades and was coached by him, told the Associated Press: “This is a person who has devoted his life to representing the United States on an international stage, caring for the community and protecting and caring for National Park Service property. So the idea that he is a malicious destroyer of federal property shocks the conscience and makes no sense to anybody who’s ever known Davey Hearn.”
The Associated Press interviewed Van Grack outside the courthouse, with his comments appearing in news organizations across the country, including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, WTOP, WUSA9, Spectrum News/NY1, and the Houston Chronicle. Van Grack was also featured in separate coverage by The New Republic and Common Dreams. Adam’s comments were also cited in additional national coverage of the case.
In Associated Press television coverage from outside the courthouse, Adam called for perspective and proportionality in the case:
“We don't need this in our country. We don't need a national hero being put up for trial for something that the average person looks at and says, what are we doing here? There's a lot larger issues in our country that we should be prosecuting, not someone who stuck their hand in the Reflecting Pool and may or may not have touched some of the liner that was already detached.”
Adam also emphasized that prosecutors had not alleged that Hearn possessed a knife, sharp tool, or other instrument capable of cutting the liner. Hearn was wearing his biking gear and, according to the allegations, used only his bare hands.
“I’m hoping that cooler heads prevail and that common sense prevails,” Van Grack told the Associated Press.
Hearn pleaded not guilty today. Adam Van Grack continues to stand with Hearn and his family and to urge that the case be evaluated based on the actual evidence, fairness, and proportionality. A felony prosecution carrying potentially severe consequences should require compelling evidence of intentional destruction, and the circumstances surrounding Hearn’s arrest raise serious questions about whether that standard has been met. Adam hopes that as the evidence is examined, common sense will prevail and a prosecution that he believes should never have reached this point will come to an end.
Watch and read the coverage: