Crime & Safety

Activist Adam Kokesh Appears in Court, is Handed Down Sentence

His sentence is very different from what many expected.

Infamous anti-government, pro-gun activist Adam Kokesh of Herndon appeared in a Washington, D.C. Superior Court Friday to find out his fate, the Washington Post reported.

Kokesh, a former Marine, has been in and out of jail since July, when his Herndon home was raided by both Herndon and U.S. Parks police officers and he was arrested on drugs and firearms charges.

The dramatic search of his home on the evening of July 9 came after Kokesh appeared in a YouTube video—which was shown on CNN—loading live ammunition into a large shotgun in the middle of Freedom Plaza in D.C.

Gun laws in D.C. are some of the strictest in the country, and it is against the law to possess or display a firearm in the district.
 
In the video, Kokesh recited "menacing" anti-government statements while loading the shotgun.

The video came on the heels of well-publicized attempts to organize armed marches from Virginia into Washington around the July 4th holiday, which Kokesh canceled after authorities caught wind of the plans.

After spending a few weeks in Fairfax County jail, Kokesh was released in late July, and then transferred into the custody of D.C. authorities to face charges there. He was denied bond by a judge who called him "a very dangerous man" and spent four months in jail.

On Friday, despite being handed down a sentence of one year in jail from D.C. Superior Court Judge Patricia Broderick, the Post reported Kokesh's sentence was reduced to two years' probation.

Broderick said she was reducing his sentence because he had been "adhering to orders" since his November release, and because Kokesh apologized before the court, calling his actions "an error in judgment" and promising he was "happy to refrain from civil disobedience" going forward, the Post reported.

What do you think of Kokesh's sentence? Tell us in the comments.

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