Adam Kokesh

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Adam Charles Kokesh
Kokesh 2010 Headshot Original 2-2.jpg
Adam Kokesh
Born February 1, 1982 (1982-02-01) (age 29)
California
Allegiance USA
Service/branch USMC logo.svg United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1999–2007
Rank USMC-E4.svg Corporal
Unit 3rd Civil Affairs Group[1]
Battles/wars Iraq War
Other work Talk show host, Political Activism

Adam Charles Kokesh (born February 1, 1982) is an American activist and talk radio host. Kokesh was a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and is a veteran of the Iraq War. He is an outspoken opponent of the U.S. military intervention in Iraq and has received media attention related to anti-war protest activities. He is the son of Charles Kokesh, a Santa Fe venture capitalist, founder of a firm called Technology Funding and owner of the Santa Fe Horse Park.[2] Kokesh is Jewish.[3]

Contents

[edit] Marine Corps service

Kokesh attended the Native American Preparatory School in San Ysidro, New Mexico.[4] He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1999.[5] In 2004, he served in Fallujah.[6] He was a liaison between the U.S. military and Iraqi civilians as a member of the 3rd Civil Affairs Group.[1] He also worked a security checkpoint while in Iraq.[7] He brought home a pistol from Iraq in 2004[5] in violation of military rules, which prevented his return for a second Iraq tour.[7] Kokesh "had risen to the rank of sergeant after three-and-a-half years in the Reserves" and "was demoted to corporal and soon thereafter discharged honorably with a re-enlistment code that basically said, 'you can't re-enlist.'"[7] Having experienced combat in Fallujah, Kokesh received the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy Commendation Medal after his honorable discharge from active duty.[8]

After his discharge, and during a March 19, 2007 protest he attended, Kokesh was in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR);[7] a superior officer identified him in a photo caption in the Washington Post.[9] On "March 29, a Marine major sent him an e-mail to tell him he was being investigated for misconduct by appearing at a political event in uniform. Kokesh responded, telling the major what he thought" and used an expletive in his reply, resulting in an additional misconduct charge.[7] The charges were "brought under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which applies only to service members," confusing some veterans and lawyers.[7]

[edit] Hearing

In May 2007, a hearing was convened to consider changing Kokesh's military discharge from "honorable" to "other than honorable" on two points: "Disrespect toward a Superior Commissioned Officer," and violating "Wearing of the uniform" regulation.[10][11] The panel recommended Kokesh be given a "general discharge under honorable conditions,"[12] a discharge status below "honorable," and above "other than honorable".[13] Kokesh appealed the decision, and was denied.[14][broken citation]

[edit] Protest activities

After returning from Iraq, Kokesh resumed his studies and completed his bachelor's degree in psychology at Claremont McKenna College. In February 2007, Kokesh became an active participant in the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). On March 19, 2007, to mark the 4th anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Kokesh and 12 other Iraq Veterans Against the War members participated in an occupation-like mock patrol of Washington D.C.[15] Kokesh first came to national attention after he was interviewed on CNN and his photograph appeared in newspapers throughout the country, including the front page of the Los Angeles Times at a protest during Alberto Gonzales's testimony to Congress regarding the dismissal of U.S. attorneys. Kokesh, wearing his Marine Corps Boonie hat, held up a large sign counting the number of times Gonzalez said "I don't remember" or "I don't recall" (Kokesh claimed Gonzalez used such phrases 74 times).[16]

Adam Kokesh arrest at Senate Hart office building, April 26, 2007

In April 2007 Kokesh and a number of other activists were arrested for protesting the Iraq war in the Senate Hart Office Building. Kokesh had performed a ceremony for lost service members using an American flag.[17][18][19]

In June 2007 Kokesh, along with IVAW members Liam Madden and Nate Lewis, were arrested for crossing onto the property of Ft. Benning near Columbus, Georgia. On June 13, the government filed a motion to dismiss the trespass charges.[20][verification needed]

Kokesh enrolled in graduate studies in political management at George Washington University.[21] In October 2007, Kokesh, along with six other students, created controversy by putting up satirical political posters across the university campus. The posters featured a picture of a stereotypical Arab man and the headline "Hate Muslims? So do we!!!," with illustrative captions explaining that the typical Muslim is equipped with a venom-spouting mouth, laser-shooting eyes, and hidden AK-47:s, among other parodical features. The poster was signed "Students for Conservativo-Fascism Awareness," and encouraged students to visit the right-wing website terrorismawareness.org. Kokesh and the six other students publicly admitted to responsibility amidst accusations that the poster was Islamophobic, maintaining that their intent was to spread awareness of what they considered to be the overtly racist intentions of the above-mentioned website's "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" organized by a conservative student organization and featuring David Horowitz.[22]

On September 2, 2008, Kokesh spoke at Representative Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he stated, "While it is our responsibility now to resist tyranny civily, while we still can, there may come a time when we will say to the powers that be, be it with your blood or ours we have come to water the tree of liberty … who will stand with me?"

On September 4, 2008, Kokesh interrupted Senator John McCain's acceptance speech of the GOP nomination for President at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Holding a sign reading "McCain Votes Against Vets" on one side and "You can't win an occupation" on the other,[23] Kokesh yelled, "Ask him why he votes against vets!" A member of the audience grabbed the sign and tore it in two. Kokesh was released shortly after being detained by local police.[24]

On May 28, 2011, Kokesh and other activists participated in a flash mob-silent dance at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. in protest of a recent ruling against dancing at federal monuments; the activists were arrested through the use of physical force by U.S. Park Police officers after actively resisting arrest and ignoring officers' commands.[25] An investigation has been launched into whether excessive force was used by the arresting officers.[citation needed] A much larger protest the following Saturday, June 4, 2011, organized by Kokesh and Code Pink, involved about 200 protesters and 75 dancers. About 10 minutes after the dancing began, police began clearing the monument.[26] No arrests were made. When asked by a journalist if he had a permit to protest, Kokesh reportedly produced a copy of the Constitution and said, "Actually I got a permit. It's the same one I swore an oath to when I enlisted in the Marine Corps. And it says something about 'freedom of assembly.' Which means you don't need permission from anybody to come together and speak your mind."[27]

[edit] VFW position

The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars has defended the right of Kokesh and others who have been given honorable discharges to protest in uniform.[21]

[edit] 2010 congressional campaign

In 2010, Adam Kokesh attempted to unseat Democratic representative Ben Ray Luján in New Mexico's heavily Democratic 3rd congressional district running as a libertarian-oriented Republican.[28] Kokesh received mostly out-of-state money,[28] support from Ron Paul,[29] and an endorsement from the Republican Liberty Caucus, the PAC that represents the libertarian wing of the Republican Party.[30] Kokesh's opponent in the New Mexico GOP primary was Tom Mullins[31] to whom he lost.[32]

[edit] "Adam vs The Man"

Since July 2010 Kokesh hosted a talk radio program called "Adam vs. The Man." The program airs weekdays from the studios of 1550 KIVA in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[33] In April 2011 his show was picked up by Russia Today television network ("RT").[34] Accuracy in Media criticized Kokesh's appearing on RT, a non-profit organization which largely is funded by the Russian government.[35][36][37] The conservative group wrote that RT uses Americans like Kokesh to make propaganda points.[38] The show was canceled in August 2011.[39]

Kokesh has continued his "Adam vs. The Man" video reports independently on YouTube, noting he was "fired from my only radio and TV gigs."[40] On the channel he has filed some critical reports of the "Occupy DC" version of the Occupy Wall Street movement.[41][42]

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Iraq War Stories: Adam Kokesh, Albuquerque Journal, September 5, 2010
  2. ^ Bob Quick (May 23, 2007). "Iraq veteran marches in Germany protest". The Santa Fe New Mexican: p. C.1. 
  3. ^ Dave Maass, Kokeheads: Republican dark horse winning over some NM voters, Santa Fe Reporter, October l4, 2009.
  4. ^ Matthew Reichbach, Adam Kokesh launches northern New Mexico congressional campaign, American Independent News Network, July 6, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Heather Hollingsworth (May 31, 2007). "Marine Vet Faces Hearing Over Protest". The Washington Post (The Associated Press). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053100249.html. 
  6. ^ Karen Matthews (May 28, 2007). "Anti-war Iraq vets protest in N.Y.C.; Street theater aims at telling truth, they say". The Record (The Associated Press): p. A.04. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f Stephen Koff (May 30, 2007). "Anti-war veterans claim military seeks to muzzle them". Newhouse News Service: p. 1. 
  8. ^ David Montgomery (May 31, 2007). "Antiwar to the Corps: Marine Reservist-Protesters Face Discipline". Washington Post: p. C.1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053002627.html. 
  9. ^ "Anti-war Marine faces hearing over uniform". The Brattleboro Reformer. June 5, 2007. 
  10. ^ "Corps accused of 'muzzle' tactics," by Stephen Koff. The Plain Dealer, May 31, 2007. [1]
  11. ^ Kokesh's letter with scan of Notification of Separation Proceedings
  12. ^ David Montgomery (June 5, 2007). "Marines Reduce Penalty For Reservist-Protester". The Washington Post: p. C.2. 
  13. ^ "US panel punishes anti-war marine". BBC News. June 5, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6723521.stm. 
  14. ^ Anti-war Marine loses appeal; final decision on discharge expected within a week.[2]
  15. ^ David Montgomery (March 21, 2007). "Anti-war Iraq vets stage mock patrol D.C. residents get taste of occupation". The Journal Gazette: p. 6.A. 
  16. ^ Kane, Paul (April 20, 2007). "The AG hearing: A post-mortem". The Washington Post. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/04/the_ag_hearing_a_post_mortem.html. 
  17. ^ Marine veteran, protester faces discharge, United Press International, June 4, 2007.
  18. ^ Fighting on the battlefield of policy: Graduate student attacks Bush's war stance, The GW Hatchet, April 30, 2007.
  19. ^ CodePink supports Peace Coalition, CodePink Dc blog, April 27, 2007.
  20. ^ Associated Press,Trespass charges against veteran protesters dropped June 14, 2007
  21. ^ a b David Montgomery, In Clash With Marines, Reservists Gain Ally in VFW, Washington Post, June 2, 2007.
  22. ^ Seven GW students admit to hanging controversial posters
  23. ^ Indianapolis Star, McCain's speech interrupted by protestors September 4, 2008
  24. ^ The American Prospect, McCain Heckler Detained, Handcuffed, and Released Outside Excel Center September 4, 2008
  25. ^ Sarah Kaufman, Dancing in Jefferson Memorial? Our Founding Father would approve, Washington Post, May 2011; includes screen shot of Kokesh's video report Adam Kokesh body slammed, choked, police brutality at Jefferson Memorial, video uploaded May 28, 2011 to Adam Kokesh Youtube page.
  26. ^ Lori Aratani (June 5, 2011). "Dancers shimmy at the Jefferson Memorial". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dancers-shimmy-at-the-jefferson-memorial/2011/06/04/AGb284IH_story.html. 
  27. ^ John Henrehan (June 7, 2011). "Dancing Again At Jefferson Memorial; No Arrests". Fox News. http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/dancing-again-at-jefferson-memorial%3B-no-arrests. 
  28. ^ a b Heath Haussamen (July 21, 2009). "Adam Kokesh campaigns in Ron Paul’s shadow: Ron Paul’s support won’t help Kokesh win congressional bid, UNM prof says". New Mexico Independent. http://newmexicoindependent.com/32289/ron-paul%E2%80%99s-support-won%E2%80%99t-help-kokesh-win-unm-prof-says. 
  29. ^ Steve Terrell (July 17, 2009). "Kokesh to take on Lujan as Republican: Previously undecided, 'Revolutionary Patriot' files under GOP for race". McClatchy. 
  30. ^ 2010 Endorsed Candidates, Republican Liberty Caucus website.
  31. ^ Steve Terrell (May 17, 2010). "3rd Congressional District 'Traditional Republican' vs. Anti-war Veteran". The Santa Fe New Mexican: p. A.1. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/localnews/3rd-congressional-district--Traditional-Republican--squares-off. 
  32. ^ Steve Terrell (June 2, 2010). "Oilman defeats Kokesh in GOP house race". The Santa Fe New Mexican: p. A.5. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/LocalNews/3rd-congressional-district-Oilman-defeats-S-F--s-Kokesh-in-GOP-. 
  33. ^ "Adam vs. The Man" page on 1550 KIVA-AM.
  34. ^ RT America Launches New Show, Hosted by Former US Marine, Adam Kokesh, press release on Adam vs The Man web site, April 4, 2011.
  35. ^ James Painter, The boom in counter-hegemonic news channels: a case study of Telesur, (undated), Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
  36. ^ Russia Today Courts Viewers With Controversy The Moscow Times March 17, 2010
  37. ^ Stephen Boykewich (16-09-05). "Russia Today Television Misses Launch Date". The Moscow Times. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-today-television-misses-launch-date/209898.html. 
  38. ^ "KGB TV to Air Show Hosted by Anti-war Marine Vet". Accuracy in Media. 05-04-11. http://www.aim.org/aim-column/kgb-tv-to-air-show-hosted-by-anti-war-marine-vet/. 
  39. ^ "FINAL EPISODE: East Coast Quake, Libya Rebellion, You The Viewer, Teachers & Social Media, Net Neutrality, Media Blackout on Ron Paul?". RT. 08-25-11. http://www.adamvstheman.com/blog/episodes/final-episode-east-coast-quake-libya-rebellion-you-the-viewer-teachers-social-media-net-neutrality-media-blackout-on-ron-paul/. 
  40. ^ Profile description at Youtube.com/AdamKokesh.
  41. ^ Lucy Steigerwald, Occupy DC Digs Democracy, Hints at Revolution, Doesn't like War, Corporations, or The Two Party System, Reason Magazine, October 7, 2011.
  42. ^ See videos at Youtube.com/AdamKokesh, including: Obama Supporters "Occupy" DC and Occupation movement does not represent the 99%.

[edit] External links

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