On Friday, Rockville City Councilmember Adam Van Grack joined Congressman Jamie Raskin and dozens of supporters outside the DC Superior Court to call for finality in Davey Hearn’s criminal case.

Davey Hearn is a Bethesda resident, Walter Johnson High School graduate, U.S. Olympian, World Champion, coach, volunteer, and longtime member of Montgomery County’s paddling and nonprofit communities. He has spent decades giving back to Montgomery County, mentoring athletes, supporting local nonprofits, and helping care for parks, rivers, and public spaces throughout the region.

For Councilmember Van Grack, this case is both personal and broader than one person. As described by Bethesda Magazine last week, Councilmember Van Grack has known Davey for almost three decades through the whitewater racing community. Councilmember Van Grack previously chaired USA Canoe/Kayak, the national governing body for Olympic canoe and kayak sports in the United States, and also served as Chair of the Potomac Whitewater Racing Center.

Councilmember Van Grack told C-SPAN and CNN, "The idea that someone who has cared for national park property is a malicious destroyer of national park property shocks the conscious of anyone who has ever known Davey." Congressman Raskin was even more direct: “Davey Hearn is innocent. He's got nothing to do with the toxic contamination of the reflecting pool and the algae farm that is growing in it. That is a problem with the Trump administration. They should deal with it without bringing my constituent into it.”

“I am proud to stand with Davey Hearn,” Councilmember Van Grack said. “But this is also bigger than Davey. The criminal justice system must be guided by facts, evidence, and law, not political pressure.”

Councilmember Van Grack thanked Congressman Raskin for joining the rally and for demanding accountability. Congressman Raskin has been outspoken in calling for the case to be dismissed with prejudice and has sought documents related to the prosecution, including communications among federal agencies and evidence presented to the grand jury.

The charges against Davey have been dismissed. However, the Court must still decide whether the dismissal will be with prejudice, meaning the case is finally over, or without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that the government could try to bring the case back.

At Friday’s hearing, Judge Todd Edelman pressed prosecutors on why the government should be allowed to keep the door open to future charges when prosecutors are not currently investigating Davey and could not identify where new evidence might come from. When Judge Edelman asked, “Where is it gonna come from?” the prosecutor before the Court responded, “That I don’t know.”

Importantly, when mentioned public statements of pressure from the President of the United States, Judge Edelman asked prosecutors, “How am I to look at these statements as anything other than statements by the chief executive urging your office to pursue a prosecution that you have told me is meritless?”

The Court did not rule from the bench and is expected to issue a decision soon.

“Davey has already endured an arrest, an indictment, national accusations, and the threat of a felony prosecution that should never have gone this far,” Councilmember Van Grack said. “He deserves more than a temporary reprieve. He deserves finality.”

Related coverage of the rally and hearing has appeared in Bethesda Magazine, The Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, NBC4 Washington, and other outlets.