Kokesh with his unsigned citations following his release last Friday. (Via Facebook)

After a slight dust-up in Philadelphia last week, the libertarian provocateur Adam Kokesh’s big plans for D.C. on July 4 should be able to go forward. Kokesh, who spent much of the past week sitting in a federal detention center in Philadelphia, was released Friday after charges against him were reduced to citations.

Kokesh was arrested May 18 while participating in a rally called “Smoke Down Prohibition” on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. The demonstration culminated when Kokesh led several other activists protested federal drug policy in sparking up joints at 4:20 p.m. It didn’t take long for police to move in and arrested Kokesh, who led the crowd in a chant of “Fuck the law, smoke it anyway!”

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia originally charged Kokesh with “obstructing, impeding, and interfering” with federal authorities. (Independence Mall is maintained by the National Park Service.) Kokesh was held at a federal holding facility through the week after refusing to answer authorities’ questions beyond his name. During Kokesh’s incarceration, his supporters painted his arrest as an episode of police power run amok, and that charges that he assaulted police officers were false. Video of Kokesh’s arrest uploaded yesterday shows him going prone when detained by officers.

Prosecutors on Friday asked for that charge to be dismissed, a request that Magistrate Judge Elizabeth T. Hey granted. Kokesh’s marijuana useThe charge was reduced to a citation which, he boasts on his Facebook page, he refused to sign upon his release.

And now that Kokesh is out of the can, he can get back to planning his July 4 event in which he is encouraging his fellow libertarians to march across the Arlington Memorial Bridge while carrying loaded rifles. In the mean time, though, another “Smoke Down Prohibition” is planned for Saturday, June 8, outside the White House.

Dismissal of charges against Adam Kokesh

Correction: This article originally stated that the charge against Adam Kokesh that was reduced to a citation was for marijuana use. It was for assault against a police officer.