{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140301142610/http://delaney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/delaney-attends-vigil-for-alan-gross-calls-for-maryland-native-s-release", "Delaney Attends Vigil for Alan Gross, Calls for Maryland Native\u2019s Release from Cuban Prison", "2013-12-03", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "John Delaney", "D000620", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "For Immediate Release: December 3, 2013  \n\tContact: Will McDonald, 202-225-2721\n\u00a0\nDelaney Attends Vigil for Alan Gross, Calls for Maryland Native\u2019s Release from Cuban Prison\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) attended a vigil for Montgomery County native Alan Gross and called for his release. \u00a0Gross, sent to Cuba as a contractor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been captive since 2009. The vigil, held on the fourth anniversary of Gross\u2019s imprisonment, was organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and took place at Lafayette Park, adjacent to the White House. The vigil included elected officials and local Jewish community leaders.\n\u201cOur message today is clear: Alan, you are not forgotten and you are not alone,\u201d said Congressman Delaney. \u201cAlan Gross is an American who was sent by his country overseas and it is our government\u2019s obligation to do everything we can to bring him home. Alan\u2019s imprisonment is unjust and the hardship suffered by Alan and his family is extreme. Each day that Alan spends locked in a Cuban cell is an affront to our values of a free society. It\u2019s time to bring Alan home.\u201d \u00a0\nGross was sent to Cuba in 2009 as a USAID contractor to assist the Jewish community in Cuba. Following his 2009 arrest, Gross was convicted by Cuba of crimes against the state in 2011 and sentenced to 15 years. In November, 66 Senators wrote to President Obama urging the Administration to prioritize Gross\u2019s release as \u201ca matter of grave urgency.\u201d\n\u00a0\n##", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140301142610/http://delaney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/delaney-attends-vigil-for-alan-gross-calls-for-maryland-native-s-release"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7345578633248806, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}