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People who were planning on celebrating freedom and liberty by sightseeing along the Tidal Basin and National Mall on July 4 can rest easy, because it appears they won’t be joined by other people celebrating those values by attempting to walk around with loaded rifles. Adam Kokesh, the libertarian activist who recently spent a few days in federal lockup in Philadelphia, says he is calling off his plan to gather likeminded citizens for an attempt to cross from Virginia into the District while carrying loaded rifles.
Kokesh altered the Facebook page for his July 4 event earlier this week. Instead of an attempted open-carry gun rally in a city where carrying firearms in public is illegal, Kokesh is instead encouraging his supporters around the country to head to their state capitals. So Albany, Tallahassee, Sacramento—and with 47 others—get ready! The Kokesh brigade is coming for you!
But at least it appears guns will not be an necessary part of these 50 state-level demonstrations Kokesh is now organizing. (He did not respond to requests for comment.) He’s hoping that states’ officials will rally to his side in calling for the end of the federal government:
A new American revolution is long overdue. This revolution has been brewing in the hearts and minds of the people for many years, but this Independence Day, it shall take a new form as the American Revolutionary Army will march on each state capital to demand that the governors of these 50 states immediately initiate the process of an orderly dissolution of the federal government through secession and reclamation of federally held property.
Kokesh, who hosts an Internet radio show, told his listeners yesterday that instead of flocking to D.C. loaded to bear, they should go to their state capitals, firearms optional.
Kokesh, who was released from the pokey last Friday after he was arrested at a May 18 pro-marijuana rally in Philadelphia, isn’t saying things won’t get nasty. He’s really banking on the 50 smaller events prompting the downfall of the U.S. government, or else. “Should one whole year pass from this July 4 while the crimes of this government are allowed to continue, we may have passed the point at which non-violent revolution becomes impossible,” he writes.
Yeesh. Well, at least for this Independence Day, the Metropolitan Police Department won’t have to worry about meeting Kokesh and his gun-loving compadres in the middle of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. When the original event was first announced, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier promptly said she would deploy officers, along with the U.S. Park Police, to enforce the District’s laws against carrying guns in public.
But just because Kokesh is changing his plans doesn’t mean there won’t be any madcap rallies celebrating libertarianism and the birth of the United States. The “Armed Toy Gun March” featuring water guns, water balloons, and carnival-style games for families, is still on, its organizer, Austin Petersen, tells DCist.
As for our friends in the states, enjoy July 4! Sounds like Adam Kokesh wants to make it a good one.
