Armed March Organizer Adam Kokesh arrested by Feds

May 23, 2013. Philadelphia. The Iraq War vet and former Marine who is organizing the July 4 armed march on Washington was arrested by federal authorities Saturday. Radio personality and civil rights activist Adam Kokesh was taken into custody while leading a marijuana reform rally complete with a group smoke-out. Authorities aren’t commenting. But Kokesh’s supporters suspect the arrest was related to the upcoming July 4 gun rally, not Saturday’s pot protest.

One week ago, Whiteout Press predicted Adam Kokesh’s arrest by federal authorities. Saturday, it happened. Image courtesy of Examiner.com.

There are a number of factors regarding Saturday’s arrest of libertarian and Constitutional activist Adam Kokesh that are raising eyebrows among impartial observers. Federal officials first would only say that he was arrested for resisting arrest. That position alone was causing an outcry among supporters. By its definition, anyone who’s charged with resisting arrest had to have been arrested for something else to begin with. Finally, federal authorities confirmed that Kokesh is being held on a charge of felony assault on a police officer.

July 4, 2013 armed gun march

A wide array of Adam Kokesh’s supporters have come forward since his arrest and incarceration Saturday to insist that the whole federal operation was secretly designed to throw a wrench into the upcoming armed march on Washington DC that Kokesh is organizing.

The grassroots march is being organized through various social media sites including Facebook where the event is titled, ‘Independence Day March on Washington’. According to the event page, 4,768 people have confirmed they are participating. Adam Kokesh shocked gun owners and federal authorities alike when he announced that this would be an ‘armed’ gun rally.

‘This is an act of civil disobedience, not a permitted event,’ Kokesh warns on the march’s Facebook page, ‘We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny.’ He goes on to confirm this will be a ‘peaceful’, ‘non-violent’ march and if police or federal agents attempt to stop the protest, marchers will immediately comply and turn back.

Since the armed march was first announced, gun owners and civil rights supporters have been divided. Slightly less than half appear to support the armed march while the remainder support a march, just without guns and bullets. For the past week, Whiteout Press has been asking readers about their opinion regarding the armed march. So far, the results are mixed.

Poll results

The ongoing Whiteout Press poll asks, ‘What is your view on the proposed July 4 armed march on Washington DC?’ As of the time of this writing, the results are:

• I support the armed march as it’s currently proposed (46%)

• I support a march, but with no weapons (37%)

• I support a march with UNLOADED weapons only (16%)

• I support limits on gun ownership and DO NOT support any march (2%)

There’s still time to vote in the above Whiteout Press poll. No registration required. Vote now at Whiteout Press.

Adam Kokesh arrested

Among the peculiar aspects of Kokesh’s arrest Saturday was that fact that he was participating in a local Philadelphia marijuana rally, surrounded by local Philadelphia police. But he was taken into custody by federal agents and is currently being housed at the Philadelphia Federal Detention center.

First held in December, the pot rally has been a monthly occurrence since February, where pro-legalization supporters gather in a large group to demonstrate for the legalization of marijuana. The most recent gathering was titled ‘Smoke Down Prohibition V’. As is their tradition, the assembled crowd waits until precisely 4:20pm, where upon they simultaneously smoke marijuana in violation of the law. Many of the protest’s regular participants call it an innocent act of civil disobedience.

As video footage of Saturday’s pot protest and the arrest of Adam Kokesh plainly reveal, the marijuana activist clearly did not resist arrest. As one of the protest’s organizers, he was shown to be holding a microphone and had just finished counting down to 4:20. As soon as the group lit up, federal authorities descended upon Kokesh and his fellow organizers with local Philadelphia police looking on and holding back angry protesters.

Adam Kokesh arrested in Philadelphia this Saturday.

Latest details

According to an Examiner.com report, Adam Kokesh is being charged with felony assault of a police officer. The charge reportedly carries a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The account quotes spokesman Lucas Jewell from Kokesh’s radio show.

“Adam has appeared in front of a judge and from the looks of it he is in good health… He remained silent throughout the entire process not even speaking to the lawyer that I coordinated with earlier,” Jewell explained to supporters, “He has a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday at 13:30…The reason for the detention hearing is because Adam will not speak on if he owns firearms or his address. More to come.”

Supporters of Adam Kokesh are insisting the whole episode Saturday is one giant government conspiracy to take the organizer of the July 4 armed gun march into custody. This publication would tend to agree. In fact, Whiteout Press predicted this outcome would happen more than a week ago. In our article title, ‘Planned armed March on Washington gains Momentum’, we suggested that federal officials would never let an armed march take place. Instead, they would most likely arrest Kokesh well beforehand, getting him off the streets and putting the armed march in doubt. In its place, we predicted, would be a peaceful, unarmed, ‘Free Adam Kokesh’ demonstration.

Read the Whiteout Press article, ‘Planned armed March on Washington gains Momentum’.

For more information on the armed march on the nation’s capitol July 4th, visit the event’s Facebook Page.

Don’t forget to vote in the current Whiteout Press ONLINE POLL – What is your opinion of the proposed armed march on Washington? – No registration required. Vote now at Whiteout Press.

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