Gun Activist Adam Kokesh Pleads Guilty To Weapon, Drug Charges

Gun Activist Adam Kokesh Pleads Guilty To Weapon, Drug Charges

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Screenshot via YouTube

Adam Kokesh, the libertarian gun activist who held a loaded shotgun in downtown D.C. on the Fourth of July, has pleaded guilty to weapon and drug charges, WJLA reports.

Online court records show that he accepted a plea deal today, was released and will be sentenced on January 17. Kokesh originally planned to defy D.C.'s gun laws by leading a loaded rifle march across the Arlington Memorial Bridge on Independence Day of this year.

Instead, he uploaded a video of himself at Freedom Plaza with what appeared to be a loaded shotgun to YouTube. He has been in D.C. jail since July after a judge called him a "very dangerous person" and other requests for bond were denied.

Here are more details from today, via the Post:

A trial was set for Nov. 18, and Kokesh’s supporters had been advocating for jury nullification in his case.But on Wednesday, standing next to his new attorney, Kokesh pleaded guilty to carrying a rifle or shotgun, possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. In a separate case, Kokesh pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of marijuana in the District.

Kokesh is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17. Broderick ordered Kokesh to stay out of the District and said he must report in with supervising authorities weekly. The judge also ordered that Kokesh not possess any firearms. Kokesh faces a maximum of more than six years in prison on the combined charges.

A call to his attorney on file was not immediately returned. Kokesh is expected to make a statement later today.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

http://dcist.com/2013/11/gun_activis...pleads_gui.php

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Libertarian and second amendment rights activist, Kokesh pleads guilty

http://media.washtimes.com/media/com...5adb253919b641 Photo: Still picture from youtube video/ Adam Kokesh

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - Metro News by Susan L Ruth

WASHINGTON, November 6, 2013 — During an unscheduled hearing today, Libertarian and second amendment activist Adam Kokesh made a surprise plea of guilty on charges which stemmed from an incident on the fourth of July.

On July 4, 2013, Kokesh videotaped himself loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza inside Washington D.C., where carrying weapons on the street is illegal. He was arrested at his home in Herndon, Virginia on July 9 where additional weapons and a small amount of marijuana were also found.

Online court records show that Kokesh accepted a plea today, just two weeks after he had pleaded not guilty to the same crimes, claiming that he was not guilty because he was exercising his constitutional rights.

Kokesh had been in a D.C. jail since his July arrest but was released today after the plea and will be sentenced on January 17, 2014.

After his initial plea of not guilty, a trial date was set for November 18 and Kokesh made the announcement that he intended to replace his attorney.

Today, accompanied by that new attorney, Kokesh pled guilty to carrying a shotgun, possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, and a separate charge of possession of marijuana.

At the time of his release, Kokesh was ordered by a judge to neither go into Washington D.C., nor to possess any firearms. He will also need to check in with a court appointed supervisor on a weekly bases until his sentencing.

Kokesh’s trouble with the Washington D.C. law started earlier this year when he called for an armed march to take place inside the District, a city known to have some of the strictest gun restrictions in the nation, to take place on July 4.

When word on the planned march became known, police chief Cathy Lanier made it clear that her police force would treat anyone crossing into the city armed as a criminal, and they would be waiting for the protesters once they made it across the Virginia bridge into the city.

As the date came closer, Kokesh was arrested in Philadelphia at a “smoke in” protest for the legalization of marijuana, another cause Kokesh believes in.

Once he was released from the Philadelphia jail, Kokesh called off the planned armed march, leading some supporters to question who had come to see Adam in prison and what they had said to him to make him call the march off.

Instead of the march into Washington D.C., Kokesh called for every state to hold their own rally at local state offices. These local rallies never got the enthusiasm and passion behind them that the original D.C. march had.

As some supporters were trying to organize the local rallies, the question kept being asked, where was Adam going to be on July 4? To this question, Kokesh was silent.

Then on July 4, the now infamous Youtube video was released showing Kokesh, participating in a one man armed protest inside the District.

D.C. authorities immediately released a statement saying that the video would be examined and if they believed that it was authentic, charges would be filled. Five days later, police forcefully entered the home Kokesh shares with others in Fairfax County, Virginia and took him to jail.

At his sentencing in January, Kokesh could face more than six years in prison.

http://communities.washingtontimes.c...#ixzz2jv7IRBTP

Judge sentences Virginia gun-rights advocate, Adam Kokesh, to probation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/ima...s/RTR1TFQU.jpg

Jim Young/Reuters -

Anti-war protester Adam Kokesh is seen outside Capitol Hill in Washington after calling for the end of the war in Iraq in 2007.

By Keith L. Alexander, Friday, January 17, 8:22 AM E-mail the writer

A D.C. Superior Court judge Friday placed Adam Kokesh, the Fairfax County gun-rights advocate, on two years of probation in connection with an Independence Day incident in which he videotaped himself loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza, near the White House.

Kokesh, 31, spent nearly four months in D.C. jail after his arrest, but was released in November after he pleaded guilty to carrying a rifle or shotgun, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. In a separate case, Kokesh pleaded guilty to marijuana possession.

At his sentencing Friday, Kokesh spoke of his right to protest, but apologized for his actions.

“I protest because I believe it is everyone's right,” he said, standing next to his attorney. “I made an error in judgement. I am here because I take responsibility. I will be happy to refrain from civil disobedience.”

According to court records, Kokesh posted a video on YouTube showing him holding a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun and loading what appeared to be live shells while speaking into the camera July 4. Kokesh is then seen racking the slide of the shotgun.

Authorities said the drug charge was the result of a June incident in which police saw Kokesh smoking marijuana near the White House.
The former Marine who spent time in Iraq told the judge he was not a violent person, he just wanted to make a statement. “The only time I was violent was when I was a Marine,” he said.

Kokesh was facing a maximum of more than seven years in prison on all the charges.

Judge Patricia A. Broderick said she placed Kokesh on probation because he had adhered to her orders since his release in November.

Kokesh has to register as a gun offender. He said he plans to move to California. About a dozen of his supporters clapped softly when Kokesh was allowed to leave the courtroom.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...d84_story.html

Adam Kokesh: “Time Served and Probation!”

Washington City Paper (blog)

- ‎54 minutes ago‎

Adam Kokesh sentenced to probation on drug and weapons charges (Video)

WTOP

- ‎1 hour ago‎

Adam Kokesh gets no jail time on drug, gun convictions

http://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/ima...EeO2-DeC_2y3aQ
Adam Kokesh on Capitol Hill in Washington in September 2007. (Jim Young / Reuters)

By Justin Jouvenal September 5 at 5:28 PM

A Fairfax County judge gave a gun rights activist a suspended sentence for drug and gun-related convictions Friday that followed a high-profile raid on his then-Herndon home last year.

Adam Kokesh, 32, entered Alford pleas in June to two felonies related to possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms while having an AR-15 assault rifle. Police found both — and other drugs and weapons — inside a cabinet in the basement of his home while serving a July 2013 search warrant.

In an Alford Plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction. Circuit Court Judge Lorraine Nordlund said she thought the hardest part of his convictions would be losing his gun rights.

Kokesh, who called the charges “political persecution” and struck a combative tone at previous hearings, was contrite at the sentencing.

He said he had moved to California, wrote a book about freedom and started a business and Web site around it. At one point, Kokesh held up a T-shirt with the word “Freedom” written on it, as he explained to Nordlund his recent activities.

“Violence itself is the greatest violation of freedom,” Kokesh told the judge. “I’m the opposite of dangerous.”

He added later: “I apologize to the commonwealth of Virginia and citizens of Herndon. This situation will never happen again.”

Earlier in the hearing, Fairfax County prosecutor Matthew Kapuscinski rejected the idea that the charges were politically motivated.

“This is not a case of political persecution or civil disobedience,” Kapuscinski said. “It’s reckless and irresponsible.”


Kokesh, a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War, gained notoriety after posting a video of himself loading and racking a shotgun on the District’s Freedom Plaza on July 4, 2013. The video was filmed less than a week before the raid. Kokesh later pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident.

After the hearing, Kokesh said he was happy with the sentence. He unbuttoned a white dress shirt he was wearing to reveal a black T-shirt underneath identical to the one he displayed in court. He then posed for a picture with the word “Freedom” revealed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...7d0_story.html

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