Thread: Gun activist Adam Kokesh charged

Gun activist Adam Kokesh charged

By Laurie Ure, CNN
updated 11:12 PM EDT, Fri July 26, 2013


A judge says Adam Kokesh "poses a danger" and went "out of his way" to violate laws.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Kokesh faces charges related to video made in District of Columbia
• In video, he loads a shotgun in the middle of Washington's Freedom Plaza
• It is illegal to carry firearms in the District of Columbia

Washington (CNN) -- Pro-gun activist Adam Kokesh, recently seen in an Internet video loading and cocking a shotgun, is being held in a Washington jail for three days pending a detention hearing on Monday, a judge ruled.

He is charged with carrying a rifle or shotgun outside a home or place of business, an offense that carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

Kokesh, an Iraq veteran, made headlines with a July Fourth video posted to YouTube in which he loaded a shotgun in the middle of the national capital's Freedom Plaza.

He also used Facebook to call for an armed march in Washington for the same day but called off the event in May. It is illegal to carry firearms in the District of Columbia.

District of Columbia Magistrate Judge Lori Parker said Kokesh "poses a danger" and went "out of his way" to violate the district's laws.


2012: F-bombs attack anti-swearing law

Kokesh's attorney, Peter Cooper, said after the appearance in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia that his client is making a "political statement," but argued the government is doing the same thing.

"Their allegation about danger, I believe, is unwarranted," Cooper said.

Kokesh was originally arrested July 9 after a police search of his suburban Washington home in Herndon, Virginia, found a firearm and an illicit drug, an illegal combination in the state of Virginia.

He posted bond on Thursday for that charge, but "never saw the light of day" as police picked him up soon afterward, Cooper said.

Kokesh has a history of publicly airing his opinions. He was discharged from the Marines in 2007 for wearing his uniform during an anti-war protest.

In his now infamous YouTube video, Kokesh states: "We will not be silent. We will not obey. We will not allow our government to destroy our humanity."

Then, loading shells into the shotgun, he looks into a camera, saying, "We are the final American revolution. See you next Independence Day."
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/politics/kokesh-gun-held/index.html?eref=googletoolbar

Always interesting how the Constitution when clear and defined such as the right to keep and bear arms means nothing to liberals. But then a states Constitution to protect Union pensions is all about being against Mcihigan's Constitution and how they can't touch that most sacred of Union benefits.

Any judge worth his salt should rule that the District of Columbia's law against firearms is unConstitutional and strike it down immediately.

There's more to the story:

Adam Kokesh charged with possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms

. . . Police searched the Northern Virginia home of activist Adam Kokesh Tuesday evening and took him into custody on a charge of being in possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms while also having a gun, authorities said.

Kokesh, a former Marine, was held overnight at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, charged with possession of schedule I or II drugs while in possession of a firearm, said Lt. Steve Elbert, a spokesman for the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office . . .

@ http://www.alipac.us/f19/protest-gro...rifles-277988/

Judge ordered gun activist to remain in jail

By Keith L. Alexander, Monday, July 29, 9:08 AM E-mail the writer

A D.C. Superior Court judge called a Virginia-based gun-rights activist “dangerous” Monday and ordered him to remain in D.C. jail until trial.

Magistrate Judge Frederick Sullivan ordered Adam Kokesh, 31, to remain in jail on charges of carrying a firearm in the District outside of his home or office. Kokesh was charged with allegedly loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza on Independence Day, recording it and downloading the video to Youtube.

According to court records, Kokesh posted the 23-second video to YouTube showing him holding a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun and loading what appeared to be live shells while speaking into the camera. Kokesh is then seen racking the slide of the shotgun. A caption in the video says Kokesh is in Freedom Plaza.

When authorities searched his home in Herndon, they found nine weapons, including a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum handgun, a .22-caliber rifle and a Maverick Arms 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun. Police also found ammunition and marijuana, mushrooms and “other suspected narcotics,” according to documents.

Kokesh allegedly told police at the time of their search: “I’ll help you out, check in the headboard.” That’s where police found the shotgun, according to the documents.

During the hearing, Kokesh, wearing an orange D.C. jail jumpsuit, sat next to his attorney, Peter Cooper, as Cooper tried to argue that there was no proof that the shotgun in the video wasn’t just “a prop” or that the shotgun recovered at his client’s home was the actual shotgun used in the video. Cooper argued that his client was merely “making a political statement.”

Under questioning, the lead detective in the case, Park Police officer Robert Freeman, said the shotgun recovered at Kokesh’s home had four loaded shells, the same number Kokesh is seen loading into the shotgun in the video.

Cooper also argued that his client lived with eight roommates and that there was no evidence that the guns recovered did not belong to one of the roommates.

The judge said he found “probable cause” that Kokesh did violate the District’s gun laws. ”I consider your client a very dangerous man,” Sullivan said. “You don’t make a political statement with a gun.”

The hearing often became contentious as Cooper and Sullivan argued. At one point, one of Kokesh’s friends sitting in the audience was ordered out of the courtroom. The friend, the marshals said, was trying to take a picture or video of Kokesh with his cellphone. Taking pictures in the courtroom is against court policy.

Kokesh’s next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/judge-ordered-gun-activist-to-remain-in-jail/2013/07/29/3f62830e-f84f-11e2-afc1-c850c6ee5af8_story.html?hpid=z11

Libertarian Gun Activist Adam Kokesh Denied Bond Today, Judge Will Consider Motion This Week


Screenshot via YouTube

Adam Kokesh, the libertarian activist in hot water for holding what appeared to be a loaded shotgun in downtown D.C., was once again denied bail.

According to court records, Kokesh appeared in D.C. Superior Court this morning and was once again denied bond on one felony count of carrying a gun outside a home or business. Update: To be clear, a judge is still considering granting him bond on this count. A decision will be made by the end of the week. He was granted a $100 bond for a misdemeanor drug charge by a separate judge.

A judge previously denied Kokesh bond on July 29, calling him a "very dangerous person."

Derrick Broze, a reporter for the Liberty Beat who is helping to host Kokesh's podcast, Adam Vs. The Man, provides more information from today's hearing.

So Adam Kokesh had two hearings. One was for gun charges, and mushrooms. The judge in that case is considering giving him a bond. She will decide by the end of the week. The other hearing was for a marijuana charge. The judge in that case granted him a $100 bond and also defended him saying that she didn't consider him to be a threat, and that people commit gun crimes everyday. So sorta good news but Adam sits in for a bit more.
He saw me, he is aware I am helping host his show. He looked a little pale, and it was sick to see the marshal's parade him around in chains like he is hannibal lecter.

Kokesh was filmed apparently loading a shotgun on Freedom Plaza on July 4. He had previously planned an armed march on Washington that day, but opted instead to take a stand against D.C.'s strict gun laws by himself.

He was transferred to D.C. from a Fairfax County jail last month after spending two weeks in Virginia after his July 9 arrest for possession of schedule I and II drugs while in possession of a firearm. In a jailhouse interview, Kokesh told Fox 5 the mushrooms found by police in his home were planted. He also announced his intention to run for president.

In a blog post calling for Kokesh's release posted to his website yesterday, the former Marine is called "a peace activist" and not a "flight risk."

A status conference has been scheduled for October 7 and a jury trial is set to begin on October 24.

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

http://dcist.com/2013/08/libertarian_gun_activist_adam_kokes.php

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f19/protest-gro...rifles-277988/

Kokesh arrives in federal court for pre-trial hearing on Second Amendment (Video)

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Adam Kokesh pre-trial hearing (Adam Kokesh)


Karl DickeyWest Palm Beach Libertarian Examiner



Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

333 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20001


333 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001

October 8, 2013

Yesterday, Adam Kokesh arrived in federal court for a pre-trial hearing as a result of being arrested at his residence in Herndon, VA on July 9, 2013 for performing an act of civil disobedience on July 4, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Kokesh's case is expected to go to trial on October 24, 2013 and he has been in federal custody since July 26, 2013 as he was denied bail.

Kokesh is a Marine veteran who served in the Iraq war and has been a voluntaryist involved with anti-war activism for many years. Voluntaryists are advocates of non-political, non-violent strategies to achieve a free society. In 2010 he ran for U.S. House in New Mexico under the Republican ticket and in 2011 was arrested at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial for dancing.

Kokesh is expected to use his trial to inform the public of their right to nullify laws they find unjust. Jury nullification is a constitutionally protected means for Americans to rid the nation of laws which they may find unfairly deprive Americans of their freedoms when they have hurt no one. A juror sitting on a trial has the ability to effectively veto a law by denying the prosecutor and saying the accused is 'not guilty'. In the Kokesh case, there was no victim in his actions since no one was harmed in any way. The federal government is choosing to make an example of Kokesh for defying it and wants him to be kept in jail even though he hasn't hurt anyone. This is clear tyranny by the U.S. government. Ironically his trial will be held on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.

On July 4, 2013, Kokesh carried a loaded firearm in the District of Columbia and posted it on his YouTube channel. Kokesh did not harm anyone while exercising his Second Amendment right under the U.S. Constitution. Kokesh is expected to fight his arrest on constitutional grounds. He posted the following on his website the day before his YouTube post:

"When a government has repeatedly and deliberately failed to follow its own laws, violated the fundamental human rights of its citizens, threatened the sanctity of a free press, created institutions intended to eliminate privacy of communication, waged war at the behest of special interests that threatens the public safety, killed hundreds of children with drone strikes, imprisoned and destroyed the lives of countless individuals for victimless crimes, stifled economic opportunity to maintain the dominance of the financial elite, stolen from the people through an absurd system of taxation and inflation, sold future generations into debt slavery, and abused its power to suppress political opposition, it is unfit to exist and it becomes the duty of the people to alter or abolish that government by whatever means necessary to secure liberty and ensure peace. A new American revolution is long overdue.
We who recognize the illegitimacy of this government will withdraw our material support.
We will take every reasonable measure to avoid the theft of taxation.
We refuse to serve the federal government with our labor.
We reject the authority of the federal government and will resist at every opportunity.
We demand an orderly dissolution of the federal government through secession and reclamation of federally held property.
We will provide aid and comfort to victims of the state.
We will mark Independence Day not with a celebration of collectivism, but with direct action to create freedom.
We will recruit others to this cause and share this pledge.
The time to sit idly by has passed, to remain neutral is to be complicit, just doing your job is not an excuse, and the line in the sand has been drawn between we the people, and the criminals in Washington, DC. While some timid souls will say that it is too early, that we can solve this problem through democratic means provided by government, that current levels of taxation are reasonable for the services provided, and that the crimes of this government are merely a tolerable nuisance; it may already be too late. While there is risk in drastic action, the greater danger lies in allowing this government to continue unchallenged. We will not be silent, we will not obey, we will not allow the government to destroy our humanity: we are The Final American Revolution."

http://www.examiner.com/article/kokesh-arrives-federal-court-for-pre-trial-hearing-on-2nd-amendment

Adam Kokesh pleads not guilty to gun charges (Video)
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The video that led to the trial of Adam Kokesh. (Adam Kokesh)


Matthew ReeceCharlotte Libertarian News Examiner


Washington, DC

October 24, 2013

On Oct. 24, libertarian activist and radio host Adam Kokesh appeared before a judge as part of a case against him in Washington, D.C. He is charged with the felony of openly carrying a shotgun and two misdemeanors of unregistered ammunition and an unregistered firearm. He is also facing separate charges of possession of a Schedule I or Schedule II drug while also in possession of a firearm in Virginia.

The case was prompted by aYoutube video posted by Kokesh on July 4 showing him loading shells into a shotgun in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., where openly carrying loaded weapons is a violation of statutes. On July 9, officers from the U.S. Park Police and the Herndon Police Department raided Kokesh's house with multiple vehicles, a flashbang grenade, and over 20 armored SWAT team members. During the raid, they found hallucinogenic mushrooms, which led to increased charges in the case.

When asked how he would plead, Kokesh said, “Due to the oath I swore to the Constitution when I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, by virtue of the universal human right to self-defense, in accordance with the Supreme Court case D.C. v. Heller, which affirmed that the statutes under which I am being charged are unconstitutional and thus null and void, and on behalf of all freedom loving Americans, I plead not guilty.” He argued that he never intended to hurt anyone, but was merely making a political statement.

http://www.examiner.com/article/adam...to-gun-charges

Thanks for keeping us updated on this. Did they ever give him bail or keep him in jail unnecessarily for months?

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Thanks for keeping us updated on this. Did they ever give him bail or keep him in jail unnecessarily for months?

W

The last I saw about bail was when they had a bail hearing and the judge order he be held without bail, but I could have missed it because it isn't covered very much.