Adam Kokesh presidential campaign, 2020

Adam Kokesh American Referendum Project
Campaign Libertarian Party presidential primaries, 2020
Candidate Adam Kokesh
Affiliation Libertarian Party
Status Announced: July 18, 2013 (2013-07-18)
Headquarters Indianapolis, Indiana
Key people Ben Farmer (chief strategist)
Slogan Kokesh For Not President
#FinallyFreeAmerica
America is too good for this government!
Website
Official website

The 2020 presidential campaign of Adam Kokesh was announced on July 18, 2013,[1] making Kokesh the first Libertarian to enter in the race for the 2020 United States presidential election.

Background

Adam Kokesh served in the Iraq War, where the human toll compelled him to seriously question the motives of America's foreign policy.

On July 4, 2013 Kokesh posted a YouTube video of himself loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza in the District of Columbia in open defiance of D.C. law. On the evening of July 9, a U.S. Park Police SWAT team raided Kokesh's house in Herndon, Virginia, executing a search warrant for the shotgun and raw footage from the July 4 video. The search allegedly turned up the shotgun and Psilocybin mushrooms. Kokesh was charged with possession of Schedule I or II drugs and possession of a gun with Schedule I or II drugs, both felonies. Kokesh argued the drugs were planted.[2][3]

It was then on July 18 that Kokesh sat down with FOX 5 DC in a jailhouse interview announcing his run for the presidency.[1]

The Fall 2017 Taxation Is Theft national tour was a preparation period where Kokesh championed his voluntaryist platform of "Nobody for President!"[4]

Timeline

Mr. Custodian
Adam Kokesh
Personal details
Political party Libertarian
Occupation Political activist
Military service
Service/branch United States Marine Corps Reserve
Years of service 1999-2007
Rank Sergeant
Battles/wars

Iraq War

On January 16, 2018 Kokesh officially filed the papers for his presidential campaign. Later the same day, he was pulled over by Texas police twice, and was arrested the second time. The Wise County Jail stated Kokesh was in their custody and that he was facing four charges: possession of under two ounces of marijuana, two charges regarding possession of an unspecified substance and "tampering and/or fabricating evidence with intent to impair" police investigation.[5] Kokesh was released on January 25.[6][7]

Platform

Kokesh states that upon swearing in as President, he will issue one single executive order peacefully "dissolving the federal government", and then resign to become "Custodian of the Federal Government". The executive order would then appoint "Custodians" for each department, who would work to systemically dissolve them.[8] As a combat veteran, one of Kokesh's main priorities is privatizing the Veterans Affairs Department and spinning it off into a private not-for-profit corporation wherein every US veteran has 1 voting share.[9]

The legal basis for dissolving the federal government and all its powers under the Constitution is the Declaration of Independence, which lays out the criteria for dissolving political allegiances: "When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another..." Whereas the Constitution grants powers to the federal government, the Declaration of Independence is the legal document that establishes the United States of America and is therefore a higher authority than the Constitution.[10]

Before officially announcing his presidential campaign in 2018, Adam Kokesh was running for "Not President" and went on the 70 city Taxation Is Theft national tour to promote the platform of Nobody for President. This tour is chronicled in the ongoing web documentary series FREEDOM ROAD.[11] Bitcoin millionaire Jeff Berwick of the Dollar Vigilante did a lengthy interview of Adam Kokesh on the Anarchast web TV show.[12] Also, a biography of Kokesh was recently written and is scheduled to be released in 2019.

Polling

Early polls have been run by Libertarian media websites, featuring Kokesh among an array of possible candidates for the 2020 Libertarian presidential nomination.

References

  1. 1 2 Gabbee (2013-07-18), Fox News Interviews Adam Kokesh from Jail, retrieved 2016-11-27
  2. ↑ Jouvenal, Justin; Patel, Trishula (July 10, 2013). "Adam Kokesh charged with possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms". Washington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ Riggs, Mike (10 July 2013). "SWAT Team Raids Home of Libertarian Activist Adam Kokesh, Arrests Him on Drug and Gun Charges". Reason. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Adam Kokesh Taxation is Theft Tour at University of Massachusetts Boston YAL". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  5. ↑ Doherty, Brian (January 16, 2018). "Today Adam Kokesh Filed Papers Seeking the Libertarian Presidential Nomination. Then He Was Arrested on Drug Charges". Reason. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  6. ↑ Kokesh, Adam (January 25, 2017). When Cops Don't Like You... (Welcome home, Adam!). Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  7. ↑ Hanna, Bill (January 25, 2018). "Adam Kokesh, a little-known presidential candidate, is finally out of a Texas jail". Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Platform". Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The Answer to 22 Veteran Suicides a Day". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Man with Santa Fe ties wants to be president, if only briefly". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  11. ↑ "FREEDOM ROAD Episode 2 (on the #TaxationIsTheft Tour with Adam Kokesh)". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Adam Kokesh Announces Candidacy For Not President And Is Immediately Kidnapped By The State". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
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