Adam Kokesh

Adam Kokesh was born on February 1, 1982, in San Francisco, California, and is of German and Jewish heritage.{{cite news|url=http://radaronline.com/features/2007/06/adam_kokesh_iraq_veterans_against_the_war_cindy_sheehan_1.php |date=June 28, 2007 |title=Meet Iraq Veteran Adam Kokesh, the New Mouthpiece of the Anti-War Movement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610085312/http://www.radaronline.com/features/2007/06/adam_kokesh_iraq_veterans_against_the_war_cindy_sheehan_1.php |archive-date=June 10, 2008 |url-status=dead }} He was raised in a middle-class family,{{Cite book|title=Details Magazine, April 2015|publisher=Details|year=2015|url=https://archive.org/details/Details_April_2015_USA/page/n101|pages=101–103}} and is the oldest of five siblings.{{cite web|url=http://www.sfreporter.com/news/coverstories/2013/11/19/adam-charles-vs-the-man/|title=Adam & Charles vs. The Man|website=Santa Fe Reporter|date=November 19, 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09}} His parents divorced when he was 10, after which Kokesh says he took refuge in punk rock.

His father, Charles Kokesh, is a businessman, trophy hunter, and at one time the owner of Santa Fe Horse Park.

As an adolescent, Kokesh had an interest in sports, science and technology, and was encouraged by his parents to read numerous books. When Kokesh was fourteen, he attended Devil Pups junior base camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California.

He attended Stevenson School, a boarding school in Pebble Beach, for his first year of high school, until he was kicked out for possession of alcohol.

He later attended the Native American Preparatory School in San Miguel County, New Mexico.Matthew Reichbach, [http://newmexicoindependent.com/31256/adam-kokesh-launches-northern-new-mexico-congressional-campaign Adam Kokesh launches northern New Mexico congressional campaign] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701071913/http://newmexicoindependent.com/31256/adam-kokesh-launches-northern-new-mexico-congressional-campaign |date=July 1, 2011 }}, American Independent News Network, July 6, 2009. During high school, Kokesh founded the campus radio station.

Kokesh received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Claremont McKenna College. He was the president of the Libertarian Club in college. He later enrolled in graduate studies in political management at George Washington University.David Montgomery, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102421.html "In Clash With Marines, Reservists Gain Ally in VFW"], The Washington Post, June 2, 2007.

Kokesh says he was inspired by his grandfather to enlist in the United States Marine Corps reserves at the age of seventeen, while still attending high school.

Following graduation from high school,{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/KSULKSColl200607V111N157165/KSUL_KS%20Coll_2006-07_v111_n157-165_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Kansas State collegian"|website=archive.org|access-date=2019-04-09}} Kokesh volunteered to go to Fallujah, Iraq, with the 3rd Civil Affairs Group. For his tour in Iraq from February to September 2004, he received a Navy Commendation Medal,{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-kokesh-organizes-rifle-march-on-dc-2013-5|title=Activist Is Trying To Get 10,000 People To March On DC With Loaded Rifles|last=Szoldra|first=Paul|date=2013-05-07|website=Business Insider Australia|language=en|access-date=2019-04-10}} Combat Action Ribbon, and was promoted to the rank of a sergeant. He worked in schools and mosques, observed house raids, and says he was in a couple of convoys hit by IEDs.

After completing his first tour, he became disillusioned with the war. Kokesh learned Arabic during his tenure in Iraq.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053100249.html|title=Marine Vet Faces Hearing Over Protest|author=Heather Hollingsworth|date=May 31, 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Associated Press}}

After Kokesh was honorably discharged in September, he remained a member of the Individual Ready Reserve. He was scheduled to return to Iraq for a second tour, however Kokesh was demoted to a corporal and discharged from the Marine Corps after he wore his Marine uniform during an anti-war demonstration.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/iraq-vet-who-wore-uniform-to-war-protest-gets-general-discharge|title=Iraq Vet Who Wore Uniform to War Protest Gets General Discharge|date=2015-03-25|website=Associated Press|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-08}}

In February 2007, he became an active participant in the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). On March 19, to mark the 4th anniversary of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Kokesh and twelve other IVAW members participated in an occupation-like mock patrol of Washington, D.C.{{cite news |title=Anti-war Iraq vets stage mock patrol D.C. residents get a taste of occupation |author=David Montgomery |newspaper=The Journal Gazette |page=6.A |date=March 21, 2007}}

Kokesh first came to national attention after he was interviewed on CNN and ABC, and his photograph appeared in various newspapers, including the front page of the Los Angeles Times at a protest during Alberto Gonzales's testimony to Congress regarding the dismissal of U.S. attorneys.{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2019}} Kokesh, wearing his Marine Corps Boonie hat, held up a sign counting the number of times Gonzalez said "I don't remember" or "I don't recall" (Kokesh claimed Gonzalez used such phrases 74 times).{{Cite news|title=The AG hearing: A post-mortem |author=Paul Kane |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 20, 2007 |url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/04/the_ag_hearing_a_post_mortem.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705143430/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/04/the_ag_hearing_a_post_mortem.html |archive-date=July 5, 2008 }}

File:AdamKokesh04-26-07.JPG

File:Adam Kokesh (2038489467).jpg

In April 2007, Kokesh and a number of other activists were arrested after protesting the Iraq war in the Senate Hart Office Building. Kokesh had performed a ceremony for lost service members using an American flag.[http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2007/06/04/Marine-veteran-protester-faces-discharge/UPI-15871180980041/ Marine veteran, protester faces discharge], United Press International, June 4, 2007.

During the Senate Hart Office Building demonstration, Kokesh was wearing combat fatigue pants (with name tags and emblems removed), which the Marine Corps prohibits reserve troops from wearing during anti-war demonstrations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0608/p03s03-usmi.html|title=For US military veterans, a free-speech dispute|date=2007-06-08|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=2019-04-08|issn=0882-7729}} After Kokesh was contacted via e-mail with a warning for violating uniform regulations, he responded with a refusal to comply and used an expletive in his reply.{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/iraq-veterans-speak-out-against-war/|title=Zip It, Soldier!|website=Mother Jones|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09}} He contends that the warning was an attempt to silence and punish members of the military for exercising their constitutional rights;{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ex5eyk/speaking-with-adam-kokesh-before-he-was-detained-by-the-feds|title=Speaking with Adam Kokesh, Before He Was Detained by the Feds|last=Cameron|first=Dell|date=2013-05-23|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09}} while the Marine Corps said it was a matter of ordinary discipline and Kokesh was not singled out. In June, a panel of officers stripped Kokesh of his "honorable discharge" status as a result of his conduct.

Supporters of Kokesh from around the country later staged a protest, holding banners and signs in support of Kokesh, and criticizing George W. Bush over the war. Many of the protestors wore red badges bearing the number "3,495", the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq at the time.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iraq-marine-idUSN0419998620070605|title=Corrected: Marines move to discharge protesting Iraq vet|date=2007-06-05|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-04-09|language=en}}

In June 2007, Kokesh, along with IVAW members Liam Madden and Nate Lewis, was arrested for crossing onto Fort Benning during an anti-war protest. A spokesperson for the IVAW said the three had accidentally stepped onto the base while talking to a guard. The trespass charges were dismissed.{{cite news |url=http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=94628 |title=Trespass charges against veteran protesters dropped |work=AccessNorthGa.com |date=June 14, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 3, 2012 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714165320/http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=94628 |url-status=dead }}

On September 2, 2008, Kokesh spoke at Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis, Minnesota.David Weigel, [http://washingtonindependent.com/71424/anti-war-activist-mounts-gop-campaign-for-congress Anti-War Activist Mounts GOP Campaign for Congress] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522232322/http://washingtonindependent.com/71424/anti-war-activist-mounts-gop-campaign-for-congress |date=May 22, 2013 }}, The Washington Independent, December 18, 2009.

On May 28, 2011, Kokesh and other activists participated in a flash mob-silent dance at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., in protest of a recent ruling against dancing within the monument.

Kokesh, along with four others including Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, were arrested by the U.S. Park Police for demonstrating without a permit. Kokesh was told he was under arrest after dancing a jig. He refused officers orders and was subsequently violently body-slammed onto the marble floor, put in a choke hold, then cuffed. The aggressive nature of the arrests raised concerns about the actions of some of the officers and prompted an internal investigation by the Park Police.{{cite news|last=Segraves|first=Mark|title=Park Police to probe arrests of dancing protesters|url=http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/05/park-police-to-probe-arrests-of-dancing-protesters-61535.html|access-date=September 1, 2013|newspaper=WJLA News 7|date=May 30, 2011|archive-date=September 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904192806/http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/05/park-police-to-probe-arrests-of-dancing-protesters-61535.html|url-status=dead}}Sarah Kaufman, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dancing-in-jefferson-memorial-our-founding-father-would-approve/2011/05/31/AGkcvkFH_story.html Dancing in Jefferson Memorial? Our Founding Father would approve], The Washington Post, May 2011.

A much larger protest on June 4 organized by Kokesh and Code Pink involved about 200 protesters and 75 dancers. About 10 minutes after the dancing began, police began clearing the monument.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dancers-shimmy-at-the-jefferson-memorial/2011/06/04/AGb284IH_story.html| author=Lori Aratani| title=Dancers shimmy at the Jefferson Memorial|newspaper=The Washington Post| date=June 5, 2011}} No arrests were made. When asked by a journalist if he had a permit to protest, Kokesh reportedly produced a copy of the Constitution and said, "Actually I got a permit. It's the same one I swore an oath to when I enlisted in the Marine Corps. And it says something about 'freedom of assembly.{{'"}}{{cite news |url=http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/17990389/dancing-again-at-jefferson-memorial-no-arrests#axzz2dfiOeNSh |author=John Henrehan |title=Dancing Again At Jefferson Memorial; Adam Kokesh among the protestors |publisher=Fox News5 |date=June 5, 2011 |url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717191134/http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/17990389/dancing-again-at-jefferson-memorial-no-arrests

|archive-date=July 17, 2013}}

Kokesh was a spokesperson for "Veterans for Ron Paul", a grassroots group in support of the Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign.{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/ron-paul-convention-2012-8835710|title=The Ron Paul Revolution Rolls On|last=Pierce|first=Charles P.|date=2012-05-14|website=Esquire|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09}}

On February 20, 2012, after a "Veterans for Ron Paul" rally organized by Kokesh, 500 marchers, including veterans, active-duty service, and their families, marched towards the White House.{{cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/veterans-ron-paul-2012-march-white-house-twitter-photo-slideshow-413992|author=Connor A. Sheets|title=Veterans for Ron Paul 2012 March on the White House|newspaper=International Business Times|date=February 21, 2012}} There they engaged in ceremonial flag-folding in memory of deceased soldiers and periods of silence for soldiers who died in battle and for those who committed suicide after returning.Matthew Larotonda, [https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/veterans-for-ron-paul-rally-at-white-house/ Veterans for Ron Paul Rally at White House], ABC News, February 20, 2012.

On June 26, 2012, Kokesh organized a protest against the decision of Middleborough, Massachusetts, to ban cursing in public with punishment of a $20 fine.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/cursing-ban-draws-protesters-massachusetts-town/story?id=16653252|title=Public Swearing Ban Cursed at Protest in Massachusetts Town|date=2012-06-26|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/swearing-public-punishable-20-fine-middleborough-massachusetts-article-1.1094028|title=Swearing in public now punishable by $20 fine in Middleborough, Massachusetts|agency=Associated Press|website=nydailynews.com|access-date=2019-04-09}} Kokesh said efforts to limit citizens' free speech was "more offensive, vulgar and obscene than any curse word."

In October 2012, the decision was overturned by the state's attorney general on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-ag-towns-no-swearing-rule-legally-suspect/|title=Mass. AG: Town's no-swearing rule legally suspect|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=October 9, 2012 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09}}

In May 2013, Kokesh announced an "Open Carry March on Washington" where thousands of marchers bearing arms would cross from Virginia into Washington, D.C., on Independence Day to protest strict gun laws. He described the event as a nonviolent demonstration to be coordinated with DC law enforcement and that marchers should respond "with Satyagraha"{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/activist-adam-kokesh-has-history-of-rabble-rousing-and-self-promotion/2013/05/13/95a0ddcc-b986-11e2-bd07-b6e0e6152528_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607071201/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-05-13/politics/39226580_1_cedar-crest-blvd-gun-owners-police-chief-cathy-lanier |url-status=live |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |title=Activist Adam Kokesh has history of rabble-rousing and self-promotion

|newspaper=Washington Post |date= May 15, 2013|access-date=August 24, 2013 |first1=David A. |last1=Fahrenthold |first2=Peter |last2=Hermann}} and peacefully turn back if met with force, and should be prepared to "submit to arrest without resisting."{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/open-carry-march-washington_n_3222511.html |title=Open Carry March In Washington Seeks To Put 'Government On Notice' With Loaded Rifles |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= May 6, 2013|access-date=May 23, 2013 |first=Nicholas |last=Wing}}

On July 4, 2013, Kokesh posted a YouTube video of himself allegedly loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza in the District of Columbia in open defiance of DC law. Police indicated they believed he may have used a green screen, though on his return to the plaza on July 8 he insisted data from government surveillance cameras in Freedom Plaza would show he was there.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Open-Carry-March-Activist-Says-Shotgun-Video-Was-Real-214656041.html|title='Open Carry March' Activist Says Shotgun Video Was Real|date=July 8, 2013 |publisher=4 NBC Washington|access-date=August 24, 2013}}

On the evening of July 9, a U.S. Park Police SWAT team raided Kokesh's house in Herndon, Virginia, executing a search warrant for the shotgun and raw footage from the July 4 video. With helicopters providing air support, the police officers knocked then kicked in the door and lobbed a flash grenade in the foyer, filling the house with smoke. Police clad in body armor stormed in and handcuffed Kokesh and his housemates, who alleged mistreatment during the raid and the ensuing five-hour search, which allegedly turned up the shotgun and Psilocybin mushrooms. Kokesh was charged with possession of Schedule I or II drugs and possession of a gun with Schedule I or II drugs, both felonies. Kokesh refused to leave his cell to be arraigned and fingerprinted, but was arraigned by a judge in his cell the next day.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/activist-adam-kokesh-reportedly-arrested-in-herndon/2013/07/10/73dbc8c2-e943-11e2-8f22-de4bd2a2bd39_story.html|title=Adam Kokesh charged with possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms|last1=Jouvenal|first1=Justin|date=July 10, 2013|access-date=October 30, 2013|newspaper=Washington Post|last2=Patel|first2=Trishula}}{{cite news|url=http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/10/swat-team-raids-home-of-libertarian-acti|title=SWAT Team Raids Home of Libertarian Activist Adam Kokesh, Arrests Him on Drug and Gun Charges|last=Riggs|first=Mike|date=July 10, 2013|newspaper=Reason|access-date=October 30, 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20130710/NEWS/130719699/1076/NEWS/Libertarian-activist-arrested-in-Herndon&template=fairfaxTimes|title=Libertarian activist arrested in Herndon|last=MacDonald|first=Gregg|date=July 10, 2013|newspaper=Fairfax Times|access-date=August 30, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130831190041/http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20130710/NEWS/130719699/1076/NEWS/Libertarian-activist-arrested-in-Herndon&template=fairfaxTimes|archive-date=August 31, 2013|url-status=dead}}

In a jailhouse interview on July 18 Kokesh denied any connection to the drugs found in the raid, implying they were planted.{{cite news|url=http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22879607/activist-kokesh-will-run-for-president-to-abolish-us-government#axzz2dTs9Z2tT|title=Activist Adam Kokesh will run for President to abolish U.S. government|last=Henrehan|first=John|date=July 18, 2013|newspaper=My Fox DC|access-date=August 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826204956/http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22879607/activist-kokesh-will-run-for-president-to-abolish-us-government|archive-date=August 26, 2013|url-status=dead}} On the same day, Kokesh announced his plans to run for President of the United States in 2020 on a platform of an orderly dissolution of the U.S. Federal Government.{{Citation|last=Gabbee|title=Fox News Interviews Adam Kokesh from Jail|date=July 18, 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD5FMZb-AL0|access-date=November 27, 2016}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}

On July 26, Kokesh posted bail in Virginia and was immediately rearrested by U.S. Park Police for breaking a D.C. law forbidding bearing arms which carries a penalty of up to five years in jail, in connection with his Freedom Plaza video. Magistrate Judge Lori Parker ordered Kokesh to remain in the D.C. jail over the weekend because, she said, he had violated the rules of his release in another case. Specifically, she noted that in June 2013, Kokesh was charged with possession of marijuana after he was arrested on the south side of the White House allegedly smoking a marijuana cigarette. On July 29 D.C. Superior Court Judge Frederick Sullivan, calling Kokesh "a very dangerous man," ordered him to remain in D.C. jail until trial.{{cite web|url=http://www.wtop.com/109/3401798/Kokesh-transferred-to-DC-faces-charge-related-to-gun-loading-video|title=Activist Adam Kokesh charged with openly carrying shotgun in D.C.|date=July 26, 2013|publisher=WTOP.com|access-date=September 14, 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/judge-ordered-gun-activist-to-remain-in-jail/2013/07/29/3f62830e-f84f-11e2-afc1-c850c6ee5af8_story.html?wp_login_redirect=0|title=Judge ordered gun activist to remain in jail|author=Keith L. Alexander|date=July 29, 2013|access-date=September 14, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post}}

On November 6, 2013, Kokesh was released from jail after waiving his right to a trial and pleading guilty to the July 4 weapons charges and a marijuana possession charge from the June 8 White House protest.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/virginia-gun-rights-advocate-adam-kokesh-pleads-guilty-to-gun-charges-released-from-jail/2013/11/06/337f7ff8-4708-11e3-b6f8-3782ff6cb769_story.html|title=Virginia gun rights advocate Adam Kokesh pleads guilty to gun charges, released from jail|last=Alexander|first=Keith L.|date=November 6, 2013|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=November 7, 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/11/adam-kokesh-pleads-guilty-to-weapon-drug-charges-96492.html|title=Adam Kokesh pleads guilty to weapon, drug charges|date=November 6, 2013|work=WJLA.com|access-date=November 7, 2013|publisher=Allbritton Communications Company|archive-date=November 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107110705/http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/11/adam-kokesh-pleads-guilty-to-weapon-drug-charges-96492.html|url-status=dead}} On January 16, 2014, Kokesh was sentenced to two years of probation.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/judge-sentences-virginia-gun-rights-advocate-adam-kokesh-to-probation/2014/01/17/debf000e-7f8f-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html|title=Judge sentences Virginia gun-rights advocate, Adam Kokesh, to probation|last=Alexander|first=Keith L.|date=January 17, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 17, 2014}}

On June 12, 2014, Kokesh, after entering an Alford plea in Circuit Court to two felonies related to his possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms while possessing a gun, was convicted of drug and gun charges, which he did not contest.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/va-court-convicts-gun-rights-activist-adam-kokesh/2014/06/12/30eb6d3c-f262-11e3-9ebc-2ee6f81ed217_story.html|title=Va. court convicts gun rights activist Adam Kokesh|last=Jouvenal|first=Justin|date=June 12, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 14, 2014}} In September, Kokesh received a suspended sentence.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/adam-kokesh-gets-no-jail-time-on-drug-gun-convictions/2014/09/05/e9aa0d0a-353e-11e4-8f02-03c644b2d7d0_story.html|title=Adam Kokesh gets no jail time on drug, gun convictions|last=Jouvenal|first=Justin|date=September 5, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post}}

In April 2017, Kokesh had organized a demonstration in front of the White House as a protest against the Syrian bombing campaign, but before it could start Kokesh was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court on charges related to him disrupting a TSA security line in Maryland in 2015.{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Gun-Rights-Activist-Arrested-as-Fugitive-of-Justice-419214824.html|title=Gun Rights Activist Adam Kokesh Arrested as Fugitive of Justice|first=Jackie|last=Bensen|date=April 11, 2017|work=WRC-TV}}

On October 15, 2009, Kokesh filed with the FEC to run for the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3rd congressional district as a Republican.{{cite web|url=http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/226/29992942226/29992942226.pdf|title=FEC FORM 2|last=Kokesh|first=Adam Charles|date=October 15, 2009|work=Federal Election Commission|access-date=September 10, 2017}}

He finished second in the Republican primary with 29 percent of the vote, losing the nomination to businessman Tom Mullins, who went on to lose the November general election to incumbent Democrat Ben Ray Luján.

While in jail after his 2013 arrest stemming from his civil disobedience at Freedom Plaza, Kokesh began work on his book FREEDOM!{{cite web|url=https://acronymjournal.com/2014/07/03/adam-kokeshs-independence-day-call-to-arms-revisited/|title=Adam Kokesh's Independence Day Call To Arms Revisited|last1=Trainor|first1=Dennis Jr.|date=July 4, 2014|website=The Acronym Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127215002/https://acronymjournal.com/2014/07/03/adam-kokeshs-independence-day-call-to-arms-revisited/|archive-date=November 27, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=November 27, 2016}}

Kokesh got the idea for the book while reading other libertarian tracts during his stay in jail.{{cite web|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_c424f1e0-143b-11e9-9d1e-f31bd2bd1371.html|title='Freedom!' in New Orleans: How one man's manifesto is landing on more than 200,000 doorsteps|last=REIMANN|first=NICK|website=The Advocate|date=January 10, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-04-09}} The book advocates for the use of cryptocurrency and claims the safest populace is a well-armed one. FREEDOM! was published on Independence Day (July 4) in 2014.{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/FREEDOMEbook|title=FREEDOM|last=Adam Kokesh|date=2014}}

In August 2016, Kokesh embarked on the "For the Love of FREEDOM!" tour. The tour, featuring over 60 stops and including all of the 48 contiguous states, served as an exploratory tour for his 2020 Presidential run. Free copies of his book were given away to all in attendance at each event.{{Cite news|url=http://thefreedomline.com/calendar/|title=Calendar – The FREEDOM! Line|newspaper=The FREEDOM! Line|access-date=November 27, 2016|language=en-US|archive-date=November 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127085633/http://thefreedomline.com/calendar/|url-status=dead}}

In January 2019, 204,453 copies of FREEDOM! were mailed for free to residents in many neighbourhoods of New Orleans, Louisiana. The distribution cost around US$131,000, which was primarily raised from cryptocurrency-related companies.

{{wikinews|Wikinews interviews 2020 US Libertarian Party presidential candidate Adam Kokesh}}

On July 23, 2013, Kokesh announced his candidacy for U.S. president in 2020 from a jailhouse interview with Fox 5, after he was arrested for the Open Carry incident earlier that month. He stated he was running on the single-issue idea of an "orderly dissolution of the U.S. Federal Government". He was the first Libertarian Party candidate to announce a presidential bid for the 2020 election.{{cite web|url=https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2013/07/adam-kokesh-to-run-for-president-in-2020/|title=Adam Kokesh to Run for President in 2020|date=2013-07-23|website=Independent Political Report|author=RedPhillips|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09}}

On January 16, 2018, Kokesh reaffirmed his candidacy for president. He was pulled over by Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers twice that day and arrested the second time on marijuana and controlled substance charges.{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/wise-county/2018/01/19/hours-after-declaring-candidacy-presidential-hopeful-arrested-wise-county|title=Hours after declaring candidacy, presidential hopeful arrested in Wise County|publisher=Dallas News|last1=Ramirez|first1=Marc|date=January 20, 2018}} He was bailed out on January 25.{{cite web|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/article196616409.html|title=Adam Kokesh, a little-known presidential candidate, is finally out of a Texas jail|date=January 25, 2018|author=Hanna, Bill|work=Star-Telegram|access-date=January 27, 2018}}

In April 2020, he announced John McAfee, the software developer running his own campaign for the nomination, as his running mate; McAfee also endorsed Kokesh.{{Cite news |last=Welch |first=Matt |date=April 13, 2020 |title=Judge Jim Gray To Seek Libertarian Presidential Nomination |language=en-US |work=Reason |url=https://reason.com/2020/04/13/judge-jim-gray-to-seek-libertarian-presidential-nomination/ |access-date=May 3, 2020}}

Kokesh was eliminated in the second round of the 2020 Libertarian National Convention, and after initially not endorsing a candidate, eventually endorsed Libertarian nominee Jo Jorgensen's campaign after public backlash.

• Arvin Vohra, endorsed after he was eliminated in primary
• Cynthia McKinney, former Democratic Representative and Green Party politician
• John McAfee, software developer

Kokesh views government as the greatest cause of violence in the world today and believes that governmental coercion is just as undesirable as coercion performed by a private citizen. He believes that government should be abolished in order to reduce violence and build a society based on respect.{{Cite book|title=FREEDOM!|last=Kokesh|first=Adam|publisher=The FREEDOM! Fund|year=2016|pages=1–2}} Kokesh has stated he does not hate the people running the U.S. government, however he believes government has invalidated itself by betraying the principles from which it was founded.

Kokesh ran for President of the United States in 2020 on the platform of an orderly dissolution of the federal government.{{cite web|url=http://adamkokesh.com/|title=FREEDOM! 2020 adamkokesh.com|website=adamkokesh.com|access-date=December 27, 2016}} Kokesh stated that if elected, he would immediately sign his one-and-only executive order to declare the federal government bankrupt and of no authority. He would then resign to become "Custodian of the Federal Government" to oversee the process as a bankruptcy agent.{{cite web|url=https://71republic.com/2018/04/09/interview-adam-kokesh/|title=#FinallyFreeAmerica – Interview with Adam Kokesh|date=2018-04-09|website=71 Republic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-08|archive-date=April 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408043338/https://71republic.com/2018/04/09/interview-adam-kokesh/|url-status=dead}} Every federal agency would then either be liquidated, localized to the state level or privatized, over the next four years.{{cite web|url=https://yaliberty.org/news/adam-kokesh-taxation-is-theft-tour/|title=Adam Kokesh Taxation is Theft Tour at University of Massachusetts Boston YAL|website=Young Americans for Liberty|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-08|archive-date=May 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505074138/https://yaliberty.org/news/adam-kokesh-taxation-is-theft-tour/|url-status=dead}}

Kokesh supports a non-interventionist foreign policy.{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybell.com/exclusive-interviews/anthony-wile-adam-kokesh-progression-to-a-freer-society-is-inevitable/|title=Adam Kokesh: Progression to a Freer Society Is Inevitable|website=www.thedailybell.com – The Daily Be|date=December 18, 2011}} Kokesh is a prominent anti-war activist.

Adam vs. The Man was a talk show which was available in a variety of formats, such as AM radio, web-access, podcast and Facebook-linked YouTube channel. Initially airing in 2011 as an evening two-hour broadcast on KIVA AM 1550 talk radio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Adam vs. The Man then shifted to a half-hour video news format on RT before fully moving to the internet as an hour-long video podcast. On April 7, 2014, AVTM 4.0 was launched from Los Angeles, California, and could be viewed live daily from noon to 2 PM, Pacific Time Zone.

Adam vs. The Man was licensed by the Russian affiliated RT America in April 2011. The move was criticized by Accuracy in Media's columnist Cliff Kincaid who referenced his own column entry from 2008 discussing RT's coverage of the Russia–Georgian War in which he condemned RT for "preferring to use foreigners, especially Americans, to make Russian propaganda points"Cliff Kincaid, [http://www.aim.org/aim_column/4184_0_3_0_C "Hostile Takeover of Fox News"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051227014515/http://www.aim.org/aim_column/4184_0_3_0_C |date=December 27, 2005 }}, November 21, 2005Cliff Kincaid, [http://www.aim.org/aim-column/russian-tv-sounds-like-soviet-tv/ Russian TV Sounds Like Soviet TV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108041922/http://www.aim.org/aim-column/russian-tv-sounds-like-soviet-tv/ |date=January 8, 2014 }}, Accuracy in Media, August 19, 2008. before stating that "the American Marine Veteran, Adam Kokesh, seems to fit the bill, having emerged as an anti-war activist who ran as a Republican for Congress and supported Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) for president".Cliff Kincaid, [http://www.aim.org/aim-column/kgb-tv-to-air-show-hosted-by-anti-war-marine-vet/ KGB TV to Air Show Hosted by Anti-war Marine Vet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408154335/http://www.aim.org/aim-column/kgb-tv-to-air-show-hosted-by-anti-war-marine-vet/ |date=April 8, 2011 }}, Accuracy in Media, April 5, 2011. Slate writer David Weigel quoted Kokesh describing RT's model, saying: "Truth is the best propaganda. I love it! I really love the concept of that. It's funny: People say we're hiding shit as a network. No, no—we put the fact that this is propaganda right out front. We're putting out the truth that no one else wants to say. I mean, if you want to put it in the worst possible abstract, it's the Russian government, which is a competing protection racket against the other governments of the world, going against the United States and calling them on their bullshit."David Weigel, [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2011/06/pravda_will_set_you_free.single.html Pravda Will Set You Free; Russia's answer to Fox News and MSNBC.], Slate, June 27, 2011.

After only a few months on RT, Adam vs. The Man was canceled in August by the network to avoid potential legal problems stemming from a Federal Election Commission complaint filed against RT by the group America's Survival, Inc. over the matter of Kokesh endorsing Ron Paul for President (thereby allegedly running afoul of the Foreign Agents Registration Act).{{cite web

|url=http://deadlinelive.info/2011/08/24/adam-kokeshs-rt-show-adam-vs-the-man-canceled-due-to-fec-complaint/

|date=August 24, 2011

|title=Adam Kokesh's RT show 'Adam vs the Man" canceled due to FEC complaint

|author=Jack Blood

|publisher=DeadlineLive.com

|access-date=September 12, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701223429/http://deadlinelive.info/2011/08/24/adam-kokeshs-rt-show-adam-vs-the-man-canceled-due-to-fec-complaint/

|archive-date=July 1, 2013

|url-status=dead

}}

• [http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/fec-complaint.pdf ASI FEC Complaint] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920032338/http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/fec-complaint.pdf |date=September 20, 2012 }}

Kokesh routinely uploads activism videos to his YouTube channel, Adam vs. The Man.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/adam-kokesh-libertarian-gun-rights-activist-also-enjoys-hallucinogenic-mushrooms/313460/|title=Gun Rights Activist Adam Kokesh Busted for Shrooms|last=Schonfeld|first=Zach|date=2013-07-10|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-10}} As of July 2019, the YouTube channel had 248,000 subscribers.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/AdamKokesh|title=AdamKokesh|website=YouTube|language=en|access-date=27 June 2019}} Topics include Kokesh's political views, and videos about how to complete a DUI-checkpoint.

In 2015, the Kokesh renamed the channel to Freedom!

As of December 30, 2020, Adam Kokesh's YouTube channel is named "Adam Kokesh"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamKokesh/channels |title=AdamKokesh |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2021-12-18}}

Kokesh appears in the role of "A Soldier" in the 2016 film The Prey,{{cite web|url=http://blockbusterone.online/the-prey/ |title=Rent The Prey (2018) Online |publisher=Blockbuster Online |access-date=February 1, 2018 }} and as himself in the documentaries The Road to Fallujah (2008), For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty (2009), Owned & Operated (2012), Derrick J's Victimless Crime Spree (2012), ShadowRing (2015), and Gray State: The Rise (2015).

On January 19, 2013, Kokesh appeared as a future version of himself at an anti-war-debt rally scene in the 2014 sci-fi thriller, Alongside Night. Kokesh wrote the speech he delivered, a tribute to the character of Dr. Martin Vreeland (played by Kevin Sorbo), in the background during an action sequence. Most of the speech plays during the movie's end credits and the unedited full speech is on YouTube.{{cite web|url=http://jneilschulman.agorist.com/2013/10/three-new-alongside-night-videos/|title=Three New Alongside Night Videos « J. Neil Schulman|website=jneilschulman.agorist.com}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = New Mexico U.S. House District 3 Republican primary, 2010{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.state.nm.us/uploads/files/Election%20Results/StatewidePrim10.pdf|title=Canvass of Returns of Primary Election Held on June 1, 2010 – State of New Mexico|publisher=State of New Mexico|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221134921/http://www.sos.state.nm.us/uploads/files/Election%20Results/StatewidePrim10.pdf|archive-date=February 21, 2014|url-status=dead}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Thomas E. Mullins

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 23,301

| percentage = 71.3

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Adam C. Kokesh

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 9,372

| percentage = 28.7

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 32,673

| percentage = 100

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Portal|Biography|Libertarianism}}

• List of peace activists

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• {{C-SPAN|1025686}}
• {{IMDb name|3174254}}

{{United States presidential election, 2020}}

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