Independence Day in Washington, D.C. may see bigger fireworks if the "Open Carry March" put forth by a Marine veteran turned libertarian activist actually goes forward.
Adam Kokesh, 31, is planning a July 4 rally of pro-gun activists openly carrying rifles from Virginia to Washington as an act of "civil disobedience." The plan, according to his Facebook event page, is to march across Memorial Bridge with rifles loaded and slung across the back "to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated [and] cower in submission to tyranny."
The invite continues, stating, " ... This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent."
Kokesh writes that if 10,000 attendees RSVP by June 1st, "we have the critical mass necessary to pull this off." He said he wants to have at least 1,000 actually marching in the event, and as of this writing, more than 1,400 have said they were going.
A Marine veteran of Iraq, Kokesh received the Navy Commendation Medal after fighting in Fallujah. He later became a prominent anti-war activist and started his own show, Adam vs. The Man.
If the event goes forward, it will most likely end in arrests. The state of Virginia allows open carrying of firearms, but while Washington, D.C. allows registration of firearms, the city does not issue permits to carry them.
From the Facebook event page:
Should we meet physical resistance, we will peacefully turn back, having shown that free people are not welcome in Washington, & returning with the resolve that the politicians, bureaucrats, & enforcers of the federal government will not be welcome in the land of the free.
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.
Kokesh is no stranger to controversy. In 2011, Kokesh and others disobeyed a "no dancing rule" at the Jefferson Memorial, resulting in their arrest by U.S. Park Police.
His latest march comes on the heels of increasingly anti-government rhetoric, with Kokesh tweeting on May 2, "It's time to abolish the US federal government."
When the government comes to take your guns, you can shoot government agents, or submit to slavery.
— Adam Kokesh (@adamkokesh) May 3, 2013
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