House Candidate Who Allegedly Shot Flock Cameras Gets Over $10K in Legal Donations

Adam Heimerman of Tennessee is being held on $40,000 bond but has raised more than $12,000 from a GoFundMe.

A congressional candidate charged with felony vandalism after allegedly shooting a Flock camera has received almost $12,500 from hundreds of donations towards his legal defense.

Adam Lee Heimerman, 37, of Lenoir City, Tenn., is an independent candidate for Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District. Blount County authorities arrested him July 30 and charged him with four counts of felony vandalism, claiming that Heimerman admitted to using a gun to shoot four automated license plate reader systems over the course of eight days in July.

Donations began funneling when a GoFundMe was started for Heimerman on July 31, receiving $12,435 from 350 donations as of Tuesday afternoon. The GoFundMe has a goal of reaching $30,000.

Three of the cameras were in Blount County and one was in nearby Maryville, according to investigators. At least one was manufactured by Flock Safety, the surveillance company whose cameras have become a flashpoint in a national privacy fight. Police said the shootings took place between July 14 and July 22.

Investigators allege that Heimerman fired on one of the cameras from the property of a house of worship while people were attending church services.

He is being held on $40,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Blount County General Sessions Court on Aug. 5. Heimerman has not entered a plea, and the charges are allegations that have not been tested in court.

Legal Defense Fund

Heimerman’s GoFundMe was organized by a man named Nick Shipley on behalf of Renee Heimerman, the candidate's mother.

The language they use frames the case not as simple vandalism but as a matter of principle. It describes Heimerman as a lifelong East Tennessean devoted to "individual liberty, privacy, and government accountability," adding that the money is being directed toward what it calls strong legal representation.

Heimerman's case shares similarities with another recent case, in which a Virginia man arrested for allegedly destroying more than a dozen Flock cameras drew tens of thousands of dollars from sympathizers.

Flock's cameras have recently drawn lawsuits, had contracts canceled, and people who have destroyed them face serious legal charges. There's mounting scrutiny of how police and federal agencies tap the network; many cops across the country are being fired and some arrested for misusing the technology.

While Heimerman's donation fund is smaller, some argue it represents a broader American surveillance backlash that goes beyond the courtroom. Portions of the public are now willing not only to support those who attack such cameras, but also fund legal defenses.

Running a Race

Heimerman's case carries a political irony.

The seat he is seeking is held by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who has become one of the loudest congressional critics of exactly the very same technology Heimerman is accused of destroying. On July 21, Burchett introduced the Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act.

The bill would bar federal agencies from buying or using license plate readers, facial recognition and other biometric tools, while prohibiting state and local governments from using federal money to do the same. The bill even directly names Flock Safety.

The legislation currently has one co-sponsor and remains in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Efforts by Military.com to reach Burchett's office garnered no response.

'Addressing Mass Surveillance'

The other challenger in the race drew a sharp line between the cause and the conduct.

Michaela Barnett, the Democrat in the contest, has publicly opposed Flock and what she calls mass surveillance. Asked by Military.com about Heimerman's case, her campaign condemned the method without retreating from their position.

"I understand East Tennesseans' outrage at being surveilled, but the answer is not the unsafe discharge of a weapon in public spaces," Barnett told Military.com. "This irresponsible act does nothing to provide a long-term solution to addressing mass surveillance in our communities."

Barnett's campaign argued that Burchett's bill also does not go far enough, contending it would restrict only federal funding while leaving companies like Flock free to collect and sell data—all the while doing nothing to stop cameras paid for with state or local dollars.

Barnett, per the campaign, would pursue broader limits, including closing the so-called data broker loophole that lets the government buy information it would otherwise need a warrant to obtain.

Burchett's office has framed his own measure as a straightforward defense of basic Fourth Amendment rights.