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An outspoken libertarian activist and radio host is organizing a July 4 march through D.C. that he hopes will attract as many as 1,000 participants hoisting loaded rifles. Carrying a loaded firearm through the District is, by the way, quite illegal.
But Adam Kokesh, a former marine who was discharged in 2007 after attending an anti-Iraq war protest while in uniform, writes on Facebook that if the event gets enough people to sign up, then he will lead a group of rifle-toting marchers across the Arlington Memorial Bridge into D.C.:
On the morning of July 4, 2013, Independence Day, we will muster at the National Cemetery & at noon we will step off to march across the Memorial Bridge, down Independence Avenue, around the Capitol, the Supreme Court, & the White House, then peacefully return to Virginia across the Memorial Bridge.
Carrying guns—whether concealed or openly—is prohibited in the District, and Kokesh appears to be at least a bit cognizant of his event’s inherent illegality. With more than 1,500 people signed up so far (he estimates only one-tenth of those who say they will participate will actually show up), Kokesh writes that he will coordinate with law enforcement, though he hopes police will welcome his gun-toting masses and not turn them away.
“I will recommend that they do the best they can to honor their oaths and escort us on our route,” he writes. “Failing to provide that commitment to safety, we will either be informed that we will only be allowed up to a certain point where we would be arrested.”
If Kokesh’s group is blocked from parading through the city while holding their guns, he writes that he will “volunteer [myself]” in finding “what their actual course of action with someone crossing the line will be.” Kokesh calls the whole event a “non-violent” demonstration, though he adds that there is a chance for violence on the government’s part.
Kokesh, who did not reply to an email seeking comment—his website states he is in Barcelona—is a former host on RT, the Russian government-funded television channel. He was fired from the channel last year after an FEC complaint against his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.
He’s also been arrested at plenty of protests, and not just those involving guns. Perhaps most famously, he was one of several arrested in 2011 at the Jefferson Memorial after staging a silent dance protest.
