Home » Blogs » Kokesh July 4 Armed March Into DC Gaining Momentum

Kokesh July 4 Armed March Into DC Gaining Momentum

Robert Farago - comments No comments

Someone somewhere once said that God’s not picky about whom He choose to do His work. Not that you’d know it. Society sanctifies successful rabble rousers, leaving no room for foibles or contradictory information (Martin Luther King applied for a concealed carry permit, Mahatma Gandi was anti-disarmament). So now we have Marine and anti-war activist Adam Kokesh leading an armed march into gun-free D.C. [Full statement after the jump.] Kokesh’s civil disobedience demo is attracting willing gun rights guys and, of course, the media. Who so don’t “get” the United States Constitution. Check this reaction Kokesh’s crusade from washingtonpost.com . . .

Law enforcement officers who are sworn to serve and protect the public are “criminals”? The gun laws passed by the duly elected representatives of the people of the District are “unjust” because Kokesh disagrees with them? This sure is one slippery slope to anarchy if that loopy mindset were to take hold. Unfortunately, he has plenty of company on his absolute gun rights grassy knoll.

Kokesh’s Open Carry March on Washington is an extremely dangerous development—for the armed protestors involved, the police (and their credibility), the gun rights movement and the gun control movement. But then so was the American Revolution. Just sayin’. You in?

OFFICIAL STATEMENT [via adamvstheman.com]

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 down Constitution Avenue to peacefully return to Virginia across the Memorial Bridge. This is an act of civil disobedience, not a permitted event. 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. We are marching to mark the high water mark of government & to turn the tide. This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent. Should we meet physical resistance, we will peacefully turn back, having shown that free people are not welcome in Washington, & return with the resolve that the politicians, bureaucrats, & enforcers of the federal government will not be welcome in the land of the free. “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson. Does the government fear the people? If not, something is wrong, and we aim to change it.

It is time to marshall forces and grow our numbers. Please share this page and invite all your friends. There are only two ways this goes down. 1) Obama issues an order to the DC Chief of Police who has pledged to violate the Constitution and we execute our plan with a police escort. 2) We are not allowed to enter the District and will halt the formation well before the line at which point, with the whole world watching, we will declare the federal government illegitimate, and peacefully disperse. I much prefer option one, and the more people we have on board, the more likely it is to happen. So share this page and spread the word! It looks like we’re on track to clear 10k RSVPs well before the target of June 1. The more people think about this idea, the more they realize their fears are motivations, and their uneasiness turns to resolve. But let’s not stop at 10k. Let’s get 100k signed up so that Obama himself cannot ignore us! Who knows, maybe by Independence Day, we’ll have a million people standing with us to declare that the federal government has no authority over free people when free people are not allowed in the nation’s capitol!

This event is civil disobedience because we will be violating and/or attempting to violate various regulations that have been used to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of self-defense, however, this is in response to the DC Police refusing to follow the law of the Constitution. They have been in violation of court order and the law by continuing to enforce statures that have been ruled unconstitutional. This is one in a long train of abuses, but a government that cannot be trusted to follow its own rules cannot be trusted, and we cannot allow this lawlessness to continue. We must stop this criminal government!

You are welcome and highly encouraged to attend unarmed as a supporter, or armed with a recording device. Please RSVP in the affirmative (“Going”) if you plan to attend as a witness. If there are any active duty military or law enforcement who would like to honor their oath to the Constitution by supporting this march, please contact: [email protected]. We especially invite law enforcement officers to stand with us armed however they feel is appropriate.

All who attend this march armed will be asked to stand and move in a military formation in order to maintain unity and safety. You will be expected to be dressed professionally, and there will be an inspection. As organizer, AVTM reserves the right to reject anyone from the formation at any time for any reason. There will be no use of recording devices by anyone once they have joined the ranks. If you’d like to film or photograph, please do so from outside the formation so there is no potential for confusion with hand motions. If you are not ACTIVE law enforcement, you will be asked to leave if you have any firearms other than a single rifle or shotgun slung across your back with the muzzle pointed down. Aside from adjusting the sling, you will not touch your weapon at any time during this event.

There’s a remote chance that there will be violence as there has been from government before, and I think it should be clear that if anyone involved in this event is approached respectfully by agents of the state, they will submit to arrest without resisting. We are truly saying in the SUBTLEST way possible that we would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

There will be coordination with all relevant law enforcement agencies prior to the event.

Thanks to all the donations that have come in, we will soon be able to hire someone to help organize and coordinate logistics. Please stand by for more on this by June 1.

This is not about me or any one person. This is about an idea whose time has come and therefor cannot be stopped by any amount of force or violence. If anything happens to me between now and Independence Day, this event and the movement behind it will continue. I am happy to face death in standing up for liberty, but I have done everything possible to ensure my death would be of little consequence by inspiring everyone to be their own leader.

Click here to join the conversation.

 

Photo of author

Robert Farago

Robert Farago is the former publisher of The Truth About Guns (TTAG). He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.

0 thoughts on “Kokesh July 4 Armed March Into DC Gaining Momentum”

  1. Refer back to the original comment by Tom “I’m having real problems accepting what I just saw.
    Despicable.” That said it all. It was very disturbing to watch. I cannot believe the sheeple sat there and allowed the speaker to be escorted out, they should have risen as one and blocked the POS officer from exiting. Have to draw a line somewhere. Speaker was excellent, very articulate and factual.

    Reply
  2. Wait a second:

    “All who attend this march armed will be asked to stand and move in a military formation in order to maintain unity and safety. You will be expected to be dressed professionally, and there will be an inspection. As organizer, AVTM reserves the right to reject anyone from the formation at any time for any reason. There will be no use of recording devices by anyone once they have joined the ranks. If you’d like to film or photograph, please do so from outside the formation so there is no potential for confusion with hand motions. If you are not ACTIVE law enforcement, you will be asked to leave if you have any firearms other than a single rifle or shotgun slung across your back with the muzzle pointed down. Aside from adjusting the sling, you will not touch your weapon at any time during this event.”

    Now THAT is beautiful, hilarious, unfiltered, creme de la creme IRONY!!! I hope someone has forwarded this to Jon Stewart….

    Reply
  3. You missed the obvious picture from The Big Lebowski. Dan Zimmerman’s avatar of Walter pulling his 1911 in the bowling alley.

    Reply
  4. I see his point, but hoy….I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see this ending well. For any of us.

    Reply
  5. So either he had the hammer back or he was carrying a relic that isn’t drop/jostle safe and had one in the chamber.

    Reply
  6. If the government decides to do something stupid, what are the odds they slip someone amongst the marchers to do something stupid and make it look like the marchers were the instigators?

    Reply
  7. I really, really, REALLY want to get behind this. But it’s just a bit scary. Should we put our money where our mouths are?

    Reply
    • To ease your guilty conscience: the reason to not support this isn’t because it is scary, rather because it is dumb and counterproductive. Is this going to help gun rights be perceived as more legitimate by Joe and Jane Sixpack? No! Is it going to make anti-gun types realize the error of their ways? NO! Is it going to play into the stereotype of unhinged violent rednecks that is unfair and untrue but nonetheless compelling for people who don’t know lawful gun owners? Yes! Does it create a risk of needless escalation and demonization of all gun owners thanks to a megalomaniac? YES!

      See, that is why you shouldn’t support it.

      Reply
  8. We just beat back a full court press by the machine. We’ve proved that simply calling, e-mailing, and supporting groups that fight for our rights worked. Had that all failed, I might understand this better. As it is it sounds like a statist dream come true. Nothing but a grand opprotunity to paint the movement as violent and estrange pro gun rights people from those that have no strong opinion. And if shots are fired and lives are lost, it will be painted as “our” fault, regardless of who fired first.

    Reply
    • This…also, do we risk losing pro 2A representation resulting from this event going sideways? I think yes…not needed at this point.

      Reply
  9. How is this any scarier than the irrational fears that abounded as CCW proliferated across the nation? The IDEA of it is scary because we all fear that someone irrational will act in an irrational way.

    I understand that this particular event has the potential to become high pressure but millions of law-abiding Americans carry guns every day. They don’t randomly engage in shoot outs with law enforcement. The addition of discipline in the marching formation *should* minimize the potential of any renegade aggression.

    Reply
  10. The real danger to our society comes from uninformed Democrat voters who believe that the government should be Santa Claus. I therefore propose a mandatory $100,000,000 insurance policy required for every Democrat, prior to their voting, to be used in the next 20-30 years when the nation goes bankrupt. They can pay for it with their Obamacare health care savings.

    Reply
  11. Mixed feelings too. I think the tide may finally be starting to turn against the Progressive movement. If things go wrong here, it will give the administration a much needed distraction (at the very least).

    Now, a large march of angry people carrying buckets of tar and sacks of feathers, screaming their lungs out in front of various government offices, that would make my heart very happy.

    I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Maybe Kokesh is right, maybe it’s time for this. All I can say is, if I attend, I won’t be going armed.

    Reply
  12. Let’s go with “no shit they’re promotional items”

    Button not on frame means they’re preparing to be able to put these on anything

    when i can put it on a ddm4… sold

    Reply
  13. Notice there is much more honor and integrity in the gun world as compared to the world of our egomaniac leader. No lies, complete disclosure, accepts blame and is accountable.
    The shooter owned up to his mistake, did not try to hide and blame it on a YouTube video.
    Too bad the rest of the world does not operate this way.

    Reply
  14. Only problem is a government agent is going to let out a shot. Then there could be a real problem. If I were the government, I’d do nothing and let them do it. After all, it’s just people celebrating their constitutional and natural rights.

    Reply
  15. I have to say this is a BAD idea. Like others I can see this going south real quick. It is never right to wrong to do right. We, as gun owners, need to obey the laws no mater how stupid. We can work together get the laws changed but this will not do well for our cause. It will probably be viewed as law breakers especially in the left leaning media, not Civil Disobedience like the organizer wants.

    Just say’n

    Reply
  16. I’ll bet the first time somebody said “What if we just dumped the damn tea in the harbor?” they were called crazy and talked out of it by their sympathizers.

    Reply
  17. Bring it. The sooner the antis do their stupid ideas, the sooner it can get to the SC and get knocked down, and can never be done again.

    Reply
  18. One of the key aspects to the NRA’s success (speaking as a Benefactor member) is that we members know that the people who work for us at the NRA headquarters share our belief in the absolutely necessity of civilian gun ownership to a free nation. We also define “shall not be infringed” in the same way.

    We are one of the very few grass-roots groups whose members (5yr or longer) elect the Board of Directors.

    Reply
  19. This is a dumb idea.

    A.The guy organizing this has, what I’d charitably describe as, a checkered past.

    B. July 4th is the absolute worst day to do this. Aside from the symbolism of the day, the National Mall is filled with millions of people celebrating independence day. Just about every police officer in the area will be deployed dealing with this crowd. You wouldn’t be able to walk this route if you were carrying Nancy Pelosi on your shoulders, let alone armed in a group numbering anywhere from 1 – 1000.

    I just don’t get what Kokesh is trying to do. If he is trying to whip up the faithful, well they are already pro 2A. If he is trying to drive off moderates who might be simpathetic to the 2A, I think he’ll certainly do that. If he just wants some publicity for himself without regard to it’s impact on the fight for the 2A, I’m sure he’ll get his publicity.

    The fight to maintain and further the cause of the 2A is about numbers. The gun control legislation was defeated because enough pols thought they’d pay for it in the next election. We need to be a little more savy in pursuing those numbers or we’ve got a generation or two of gun freedom left in this country.

    Reply
  20. It’s real simple. All you who think this is a good idea, put your money where your mouth is, show up and join the ranks.

    I think that we’re winning this fight and an unneeded confrontation and possible bloodshed will do nothing but harm to our cause. Kokesh may be the government plant that the theorists are always worried about.

    That was one of Stalin’s favorite tactics. Send KGB agents out to start resistence groups against the government and then shoot all that showed up for the meetings.

    Reply
  21. Anyone who doesn’t grasp the strategy by now doesn’t want to. They aim to pick us off, state by state by state.

    The result inevitably will be a kind of partitioning of America, Euro-style.

    The other result, inevitably, is horrendous civil war. Try not to fret too much, though. Always remember they SHOVED us into it – this is what they want, and they aim to get it.

    The ultimate goal is not disarmament. This is MUCH more ambitious: they aim to destroy America from the roots up, and tear it into little, controllable pieces.

    THESE ARE THE ONES WHO HATE OUR FREEDOMS, not that other crap:

    Reply
      • LOTS of people and several originations worked their asses off to defeat this. We did what we could but the fix was in from the beginning. No
        Matter what we said they ignores it. No matter how many people showed up to testify against it they downplayed it. The whole affair was very eye opening as to how crooked this state is.

        Reply
    • The effects are at the state level, but I believe its really the major metros where the progressives congregate and have their power. The big cities are like breeding grounds for liberal thinking. They hold the rest of the states hostage, like in Illinois and California. The “original” civil war was very much a division of urban and rural as well.

      Reply
  22. Marty is sorely mistaken if he believes CA and NJ are going to allow him to upstage them as worst slave state. Enjoy it while you can buddy!

    Reply
  23. I guess that means that, in order to reflect the ‘cost’ to society of gun ownership, the Gun Control Industrial Complex owes each of us $351.73 a year.

    I’m pretty sure that should be calculated on a per-firearm basis. More guns, less crime, right?

    😉

    Reply
  24. I am still not sure what the point of this scope is. Does it just track the target for you? You still have to put the crosshairs on it and pull the trigger correct? Does it only track the target as long as you can still see it through the scope? Sounds to me like it is a fancy range compensating scope. It cant compensate for wind because it would have no idea what the wind was doing 800 yards away. Wind can change direction many times over that distance, what the wind is doing where you are sitting is not worth much. When they come up with electronic ammo that can be controlled by the scope then they will have something.

    Reply
  25. Yes, it was a shock to me to learn of Mark’s passing. When I first heard I was saddened….but then I thought back to my dealings with CrossBreed. A year ago I purchased one of the CrossBreed Super Tuck holsters, but I had to return it. The holster was of the highest quality and held my full size Sig Saur P220 perfectly, but I discovered I was just too fat to use an IWB holster. I called and returned it, and even though I was a few day past the deadline, there was no fuss at all and I was given a full refund. Mark was good to his word and his character was golden. Many of you say it is sad that he passed away so young, but we should not be sad for Mark, for he is now receiving his reward in Heaven and will have all eternity to enjoy it. I now care for my wife who has been very ill since 1990. Back in 1994 she died in bed next to me, but through a true miracle of God I awoke just as she took her last breath. I was able to call EMS and they brought her back to life. She later told of a place of beautiful brightness that was filled with, “perfect peace and love”. She told me later that, “The air itself was love…you breathed it inside you!” She was only there a moment for a short glimpse of Heaven, but Mark has now entered into the fullness of Heaven and rest in the arms of Jesus Christ, whom he served so well during his brief time on earth. Though I never met him, I will miss him because I feel I have gotten to know him a little from witnessing how he treated others. Rest in Peace? Heck, he is celebrating and singing with a heavenly choir. He is standing in the presence of the One who made a way for all of us to be forgiven and have a place in Heaven, if we only follow Jesus Christ as Mark so aptly showed us to do. We know God has blessed Mark. May He bless all of Mark’s family and friends in a great way. Thank you my brother Mark for being an Godly example to us all.

    Reply
  26. Now that looks like a gun to be taken more seriously! I’m sure there are all sorts of theoretical designs that could come of this, all sorts.

    Reply
  27. Odd, this post has been up about an hour and neither Truthy or rtempleton have dropped in to defend O’Malley. I guess maybe they are down at the Hillary for President HQ stuffing envelopes.

    Reply
  28. Adam Kokesh strikes me as an agent provocateur. He’s spent years allied with the far left. I don’t trust him.

    Research him.

    Reply
  29. A $6000 .308 bolt gun that looks like a plumbers nightmare. PT Barnum was right. Look it up. I have a $500 Remy 700 Dick’s special that I just bought and printed a clover leaf group like that with the same BH ammo. Best group I ever shot at 100 yds and I have $5500 left over. Sweet!

    Reply
  30. Forget the collectivist’s tactics of demonizing Kokesh and focus on the hundreds or thousands of people stepping up and showing they are part of the Three Percent.

    Lead, follow or get out of the way.

    Reply
  31. Forget the collectivist’s tactics of demonizing Kokesh and focus on the hundreds or thousands of people stepping up and showing they are part of the Three Percenters.

    Lead, follow or get out of the way.

    Reply
  32. Just heard this guy on the Dennis Miller radio show. Talked about how MD used to have 10 fortune 500 companies and now it’s 2. Talked about 6,500 small businesses that left the state recently. 35,000-something people have up and left. O’Malley has raised taxes 40-something times. Lots of info here:

    http://www.changemaryland.org/

    Reply
    • MD is becoming a wonderful place to live on the dole paid for by taxes on government workers. A match made in heaven.

      Reply
  33. Someone’s gonna die. Get a lot of people together and someone’s gonna die. I’ve seen it at Bonaroo. It happens at NASCAR events. Summer heat in DC, loaded guns and a few bad apples to ruin the bunch and someone’s gonna die.

    Reply
  34. How about a gun that licks your hand every time you touch it and runs a DNA analysis?

    Or a gun that evaluates your brain wave patterns?

    A scope that performs a retinal scan before becoming transparent?

    Wait, I got it: a gun with a screen for you to fill out a form 4473 when you pick it up and runs a real-time background check!

    And a microphone to perform voice recognition on your screams of mortal anguish while you’re waiting on NICS and your attacker is killing you.

    Reply
  35. After the success of their airplane, the Wright brothers return to their true passion, the bike shop in Dayton, hoping to capitalize on their reputation.

    Reply
  36. I’ll bet an outlaw hacker group will disable the biometric lock in a day or two, or a week tops. Look how long it takes them to bypass any software protection method that took the developer years and millions of dollars to make.

    I’ll bet there will be hardware hack to the electronics (like unlocking the AMD Athlon CPUs with a pencil to rejoin cut connections to allow overclocking) or removing the module and adding in some parts (3D printing?) to allow unrestricted usage.

    Reply
  37. Or maybe he and his companions are planting the seed of fear into politicians of all parties. I don’t see anything wrong with that.

    Reply
  38. That model 42 looks hideous. I find it difficult to believe they could not manufacture an existing design such as the Model 24C which is a far more simple and attractive firearm in my opinion for under $450.00 retail price of the Model 42 I’m very disappointed they did not stick with what they had.

    Reply
  39. Somewhere on the frame of the firearm? Why not use the trigger? There should be a selector that goes between safe, tag, and fire. Safe is safe, tag is for use with the tracking point, and fire behaves like a traditional rifle/scope combination.

    Reply
  40. I think you may be missing the part where D.C. Is the seat of power for the entire country. This is a national movement.

    Reply
  41. I think it’s great myself….

    It’s been a while since some rich and powerful people in Los Angeles have been thrown around the 5-0 without special treatment…..

    Reply
  42. Wait, does this mean that those pdw cartridges and those kinda silly AR/AK pistols are going to become tons more practical?

    Will 7.62×25 and TT33s see their usage extend into the 22nd & 1/2 century? Will 12ga slugs be designed with even more penetration expected?

    Will Bill the galactic hero save the princess from the planet of the robot slaves?! Tune in tomorrow to find out on The Future, coming at you whether you like it or not!

    Reply
  43. driving a white car is the only solution when one lives in a hot desert climate and being judgemental about petty stuff like that is what should suspend your man card indefinitely…also according to my hunting buddy who happens to be a swat armourer and platoon leader ‘if you need all kinds of gadgets to get the job done,all it means you haven’t got your tactical solutions resolved’…

    Reply
  44. OK, I got nothing. For once, police and judicial incompetence exceeds my cynicism.

    If this is the sort of feckless stupidity we’re going to see from cops, then we’d be better off with vigilantes, if for no other reason than vigilantes are cheaper.

    Reply
  45. what a dumb ass. would have better out come if everybody stayed home for a month and not went to any stores or work or bought gas. not even to the bank

    Reply

Leave a Comment