By Don Via, Jr.
On Saturday, December 11th, Adam Kokesh was driving down the Colorado interstate with his two dogs. He was on his way home following a protest demanding Justice for Johnny Hurley – a close friend and fellow activist recently gunned down by Colorado Police after heroically stopping a mass shooting. He was then stopped by officer Cristian Guaderrama of the Center Colorado police department for not having license plates on his vehicle.
Moments later, Kokesh would be handcuffed and kidnapped, at some point having his arm broken, and thrown in a cage.
His alleged crime? The possession of psilocybin mushrooms. Now, he resides in Saguache county jail where he has mounted a peaceful protest against what he views as an unconstitutional arrest and abuse of power. Refusing to accept bond or bail, or appear before a judge. As to do so would be to accept responsibility for a crime he didn’t commit. A “crime” which has no victim.
As TFTP has long pointed out, “victimless crimes” — offenses where there is no actual harm done to persons or property — aren’t actually crimes at all, but merely arbitrary edicts enforced by a system attempting to legislate their version of morality under penalty of extortion or violence. Put plainly, where there is no victim, there is no crime.
Kokesh’s arrest is made more ironic, however, due to the fact that just four hours away where he had just been, the possession of psilocybin won’t land you in jail.
Joie Leigh, a close friend of Kokesh, said during a recent update concerning his incarceration —
“It’s frustrating that that imaginary line is what dictates whether or not you’re a ‘criminal’ in the eyes of these guys with guns and fancy costumes.”
Kokesh himself is no stranger to encounters with the goons whom the State tasks to enforce its dictates. He has spent much of his life an outspoken Liberty activist and citizen journalist following his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps.
TFTP has reported much of the work Adam Kokesh has done in the defense of Liberty since the inception of our publication. In may of 2014, for example, we covered an interaction between Kokesh and officers of the National Park Service in Washington DC.
Kokesh and his cameraman were filming out front of White House, reporting on the excessive overreach of government. In a bit of irony, apparently they lacked the appropriate permission slip to exercise their First Amendment right, at which point the officers threatened to shackle, abduct, and throw them in a cage… for not having a piece of paper.
What followed can only be described as a verbal body slam, as Kokesh politely and diligently continued to question the blatant contradiction between the officer’s oath to the Constitution and the arbitrary edict they were now attempting to enforce. This time, rather than resorting to violence the officers declined to comment and moved on.
Such interactions would be commonplace throughout the years of his popular web series “Adam vs The Man” – continuing to be a staunch proponent of Liberty, opposing the drug war, and the police state.
Kokesh also ran as a Libertarian candidate for President during the 2020 election alongside the late John McAfee and appeared as a guest on The Free Thought Project Podcast as recently as August of this year.
In 2018, Kokesh led one of the most impactful veterans protests in recent years: The March Of The Dead Veterans. The group of multiple service members wearing skull masks marched through New Orleans to the Libertarian Party National Convention to bring awareness to the epidemic of veteran suicide — an epidemic created by government war-mongering overseas and exacerbated by the failed war on drugs here at home.
When interviewed by News2Share, Kokesh stated —
Just ending the drug war and letting veterans enjoy some of the freedom they thought they were fighting for would be the easiest and simplest way to address the issue. Three drugs specifically can save countless lives of PTSD sufferers: cannabis, MDMA, and psilocybin mushrooms. The science is clear, yet government stands in the way because there’s too much money in treating disorders with pharmaceuticals and not enough in cures.
The science IS indeed clear. Specifically with regard to psilocybin, in 2016 researchers from Johns Hopkins University published findings that psilocybin mushrooms are effective in treating PTSD.
The evidence that magic mushrooms and other psychedelics are effective in treating a myriad of mental health disorders is so abundant in fact that in 2018 Colorado put forth a vote to decriminalize psychedelics. A vote which passed and that the media then brazenly lied about.
Despite the knowledge of its effectiveness, years later Kokesh – who is a sufferer of PTSD himself – sits in a cell for possessing a medicinal plant. A combat veteran, who incurred psychological trauma fighting this government’s wars supposedly in the name of “freedom”, having his freedom stolen by the same government that caused said trauma — that has for the past week denied him the medication he needs. It is nothing less than a disgrace.
On Wednesday, December 15th, Adam was able to release a statement from within Saguache County jail, where he is currently in solitary confinement, via a recorded phone call.
While reading from a letter addressed to his friends and “freedom family”, as well as the judge before whom he was to stand, he reiterates that he is in good spirits. He also clarified his intent and reasoning for declining a public defender, bond, bail, or to see the judge. Standing firmly on the belief that he has committed no crime and is therefore being held unlawfully.
He takes the time to once again decry the drug war, and the police state — with specific mention to continued lack of police transparency regarding the heinous death of Johnny Hurley — as well as a host of oppressive systemic policies including covid mandates, censorship, and corporatism. He also calls out the “cruel machine” of the prison industrial complex as a whole and its grossly disproportionate incarceration of non-violent offenders.
Kokesh posited accusations that officials have violated his Fourth Amendment rights and due process, and made further accusations of assault, false charges, denial of human rights, inhumane treatment, and torture. He claims he was threatened with being forcibly vaccinated for covid-19, and accused Corrections Officers attempting to bribe two inmates into filing harassment charges against him.
Yet he remains in good spirits confident that liberty will prevail.
For obvious reasons, Adam’s closest friends, as well as he himself, have made it abundantly clear that under no circumstances will he ever harm himself, especially in state custody. This is particularly pertinent to note, all things considered. His aforementioned running mate John McAfee was found dead in his cell under extremely suspicious circumstances in June of this year.
While some may scoff and claim that the fact that Kokesh is refusing to cooperate is only prolonging his own suffering, it is vital for everyone to understand the reasoning for his actions. The purpose behind the protest: it is not about being insolent or simply ticking off the system. It’s about having the courage to stand up to an inherently corrupt fraudulent institution which derives its so-called legitimacy from compliance — which only further facilitates their theft of Liberty.
As Mr. kokesh has himself stated, why should his friends or anyone else pay what is essentially a ransom for his release when he’s done nothing wrong in the first place. It only continues to enable an unjust system. It is a matter of standing on principle.
While many talk big about standing up for their rights, time and time again Kokesh has demonstrated the courage that is needed to actually do it when push comes to shove.
The idea that if we just obey and continue to enable their corrupt system in the hopes that everything will just turn out okay is a self-defeating fallacy. If we hope to change it we must first stand up to it, expose it, and refuse to comply with it. And to do so peacefully is their Achilles heel for it exposes the State for what it is — a monopoly on violence.
For if they enforce tyranny on peaceful people who have committed no harm; and continue to initiate violence against those who passively resist that tyranny; it paints a clear picture that the State is the aggressor.
If you stop playing by the system’s rules altogether, the system can no longer sustain itself. If more of us demonstrated even half the courage of Mr. Kokesh, if even half of those victimless offenders who have been taken captive by the system followed his example, then the corrupt and broken system which we all loathe would change overnight.
For those who wish to continue to support Adam and his fight for freedom, you can call the Saguache County jail at 719.655.2544 or email the county clerk’s office at saguacheclerk@judicial.state.co.us reference case number 2021CR80 and respectfully ask them to do the right thing and free Adam Kokesh.
Source: The Free Thought Project
About the author – Don Via Jr. is an independent researcher and journalist from central Virginia, who has dedicated the last ten years to studying history, political science, geopolitics, and covert operations, and raising awareness about government corruption and abuses. He is a regular contributor to The Free Thought Project and his work has been featured in publications such as Activist Post, Waking Times, and others. He is the founder of the independent media outlet Break The Matrix, where more of his work can be found. As well as on associated social media on MeWe, Twitter, and Minds.
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