Gun-rights activist Adam Kokesh arrested in Herndon
Police searched the Northern Virginia home of libertarian activist Adam Kokesh Tuesday evening and took him into custody, according to a news release posted on Kokeshs Web site.
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 Sheriffs Office.
He was scheduled for arraignment in Fairfax County General District Court on Wednesday morning, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 2.
We were expecting this. We were expecting the government to raid our house, Darrell Young, Kokeshs roommate, told WRC-TV (Channel 4).
The search warrant was served by U.S. Park Police. They are responsible for policing Freedom Plaza, the concrete park a few blocks from the White House where, in a video posted to YouTubeon July 4, Kokesh appears to load a shotgun in violation of D.C. gun laws.
(READ: Kokesh has a history of rabble-rousing and self-promotion)
We will not be silent. We will not obey, Kokesh says in the video. We will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. We are the final American Revolution. See you next Independence Day.
Authorities would not say what drugs Kokesh is accused of having in his home. Possession of Schedule I or II drugs is a felony in Virginia, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $2,500 fine. If convicted of possession of Schedule I or II drugs while also in possession of a firearm, Kokesh would face an additional minimum of two years in prison.
(PHOTOS: Kokesh has promoted a variety of causes over the last six years.)
The Iraq war veteran and Internet talk show host unveiled plans in early May to lead an armed Open Carry March into the District on July 4. He described the proposed event, in which he said participants would carry loaded guns across the Memorial Bridge from Arlington into Washington, as an act of civil disobedience against tyranny.
But the march was canceled after police said they would enforce D.C.s strict gun laws, which prohibit the carrying of loaded weapons.
According to a news release from Kokeshs Internet television show, police in cars and helicopters approached Kokeshs house in Herndon, a suburb about 25 miles west of Washington, about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. Roads were blocked in the area around the house, in the 1500 block of Snow Flake Court, while the search was underway.
Kokeshs news release accuses police of aggressive, forceful conduct, including deploying a flash grenade in his foyer and using a battering ram to knock in the front door. Those details could not be independently confirmed.
The Park Police did not respond to inquiries early Wednesday about the details of the search or the charges Kokesh is facing. Herndon police assisted in the search, a communications technician from the department said. But she declined to provide details.
In six years of headline-grabbing activism, Kokesh has embraced causes including peace in Iraq, free speech in the United States and the unsuccessful 2012 presidential candidacy of Ron Paul. He has invoked Mahatma Gandhi and the First Amendment, and hes used both dancing and loaded weapons to make his political points.
We will continue to spread the message of liberty, self ownership, and the non-aggression principle regardless of the governments relentless attacks on our operation, a statement posted on Kokeshs Web site on Wednesday morning said.
We will continue to combat its desperate attempts to crush a worldwide, revolutionary shift in the peoples understanding of the states illegitimacy after all, good ideas dont require force.
In 2007, Kokesh was arrested at the Hart Senate Office Building wearing a T-shirt that read, Iraq veterans against the war. He was arrested again in 2011 when he led a group dance party at the Jefferson Memorial. He has gotten into trouble for protesting in a Marine uniform and for taking a souvenir gun home from the battlefield.
Poster Comment:
How much you want to bet that those drugs were planted?