Gun rights activist arrested after loading gun on video in D.C. park

Dylan Stableford

A libertarian activist who videotaped himself loading a shotgun in a Washington, D.C., park on July Fourth and posted it on YouTube was arrested Tuesday evening at his home in northern Virginia, according to a press release posted on his website.

Adam Kokesh, a former Marine and libertarian activist, was arrested and charged by the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office "with possession of schedule I and II drugs while in possession of a firearm," the Washington Post reports.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Fairfax County General District Court. If convicted, Kokesh could face up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $2,500 fine on the drug charges and an additional minimum of two years in prison for having a firearm with the drugs.

“We will not be silent. We will not obey,” Kokesh says in the video. “We will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. We are the final American Revolution. See you next Independence Day.”

He had hoped to lead an “Open Carry March” on Washington with 1,000 people carrying loaded rifles on the Fourth of July, but plans were squashed after police said they would enforce D.C.'s strict gun laws that prohibit the carrying of loaded weapons.

According to his press release, police raided his Herndon, Va., home at 7:45 p.m.:

Numerous police vehicles, including a light armored vehicle and two low-flying helicopters barricaded Adam’s street. More than 20 armored SWAT team members surrounded the house, as well as a number of detectives, and plainclothes officers. Assault rifles were aimed on all members of the team as they were handcuffed without being told why they were detained. Masked and armored police in full “Storm Trooper” gear flooded in and ransacked the residence. The team was cordoned in a front room, while Adam was pulled aside for questioning.

Kokesh has a history of law-breaking activism. In 2007, he was arrested at the Hart Senate Office Building while protesting the Iraq war, and again in 2011 when he led a group dance party at the Jefferson Memorial, the Post said.