*Smashing through the bullshit.*(This is an extensive, investigative post with many citations/links, and as such, I would encourage the reader to move through it slowly and thoughtfully, investigating and all the claims and assertions made herein for veracity and authenticity, so as to arrive independently at one's own, carefully considered conclusion.)
Was Adam Kokesh's arrest on January 16th, 2018, really related to his 2020 presidential bid?
Where did the donations given for the express purpose of posting his bail end up?
Was this all a well-planned publicity stunt, or just a random police stop turned into a publicity stunt on purpose, or none of the above?
Was Adam Kokesh's arrest on January 16th, 2018, demonstrably related to his 2020 presidential bid?
Was there a sound, logical rationale for the suggestion that Kokesh was being targeted by the "deep state" because the "powers that be" viewed him as a threat to the establishment? This idea was strongly suggested, pushed, and sensationalized by his campaign team and other sources during intense fundraising efforts.
Conflicting claims made by various sources stated that mere minutes after announcing his 2020 presidential bid, Kokesh was arrested. Reason Magazine and Wikipedia mistakenly reported that he was arrested mere minutes after filing the necessary paperwork. A quick check of the Federal Election Commission's official website shows that Kokesh had filed to run for president days before the arrest, on January 13th.
A screenshot of Kokesh's official presidential paperwork filed with the FEC on January 13th, 2018. SOURCE.
If the feds had wanted to nab Kokesh so badly, why wait? The paperwork was submitted days prior to the arrest. Kokesh had also been announcing his presidential intentions ON NATIONAL TELEVISION since as far back as 2013.
Perhaps the "official announcement" seen and heard by millions was the real trigger. But wait. Where was the "official announcement," anyway? Oh yeah. It was just one little blurb of a post right here on Steemit, with 1,091 views.
This tiny post on a yet obscure blogging website hardly seems to be the type of announcement that would finally trigger desperate and fearful action from the state. Could there be a more plausible reason for the arrest which occurred on January 18th, 2018?
Sure. Kokesh was driving over the speed limit, somewhat erratically (his own admission--see video below, at 0:58), in an RV with temporary tags from out-of-state, and could not provide insurance or registration information to either Texas state trooper who pulled him over, and refused to use his phone to contact the friend from whom he'd purchased the vehicle. Now, I don't view any of these things as legitimate causes to stop, harrass, search, or cage someone, but we all know how the state works, and the above cocktail of factors, COMBINED WITH HAVING DRUGS IN THE VEHICLE (Kokesh referred to these as legal "sacraments"--8:43 time stamp in hyperlinked video--as per a special Native American Church card he carries), and saying things like your dog won't bite "unless you're one of those few cops who..." isn't going to help you evade their bullshit very well.
What do you think about how Adam handled the stops? I view the police as totally illegitimate agents of coercion, but that doesn't change the fact that Kokesh did almost everything someone would do who WANTED to be arrested. Listen to the cop at 16:33. To me this hardly seems like some "big government conspiracy."
The second, this time explicit claim, of the Kokesh camp was that they didn't know what the charges against him were.
The YouTube comments section exploded under two videos, released via Adam's official YouTube channel, of his girlfriend Stacey Cook giving updates regarding Kokesh's arrest and imprisonment. Cook claimed that “They’ve still not given Adam any paperwork or charges…There’s still no case number.”
THE INTERNET DID NOT AGREE ON THIS POINT. While Kokesh may not have been given a paper in jail stating each of his charges, in a fashion you will soon see to be a pattern for the Kokesh camp, clever language and half-truths are utlized to sensationalize things for the benefit of Adam's political and financial agenda. In this case, Stacey makes it sound like nobody knows the case number or the charges, which is simply ludicrous. She also attempts to make it sounds as if Adam was carrying no drugs in the van, which we will later see, and which Adam confirms in his own words, was not the case.
YouTube comments refuting the implicit and explicit claims made in the Stacey Cook videos (linked above).
So what's really going on here? Well, before giving my interpretation of all this, let's talk about what happened with the funds raised to "Finally Free Adam" via Steemit and his official fundraising avenues.
Funds were requested for the express purpose of getting Kokesh out of the Wise County Jail in Decatur, Texas, where he was being held after this most recent arrest, via a post here on Steemit from his official account.
Later, in a statement made from jail, Kokesh stated that:
Well today I would rather fight than buy my freedom. Thanks to our supporters on Steemit, we have raised more than enough money to pay off the terrorists, but I have instructed my staff to donate that money to the Libertarian Party instead. If you're not already, please become a member of the LP by going to www.LP.org.
Now, to be fair, it is not exactly clear what is meant by "supporters" as that could technically be construed as anyone who has upvoted his posts and thus financially supported him here on this platform. He does say "raised" enough money, however, which implies the funds being redirected to the LP are from donations acquired for the express purpose of posting bond. What IS clear is that the funds raised via his official fundraiser were raised to "GET ADAM OUT OF JAIL." Where exactly these official fundraiser funds went is still very unclear.
In this video from Kokesh's assistant and "chief strategist" Ben Farmer, the Kokesh team attempts to address the issue.
SOURCE: Kokesh's website, thefreedomline.com
Wait a minute. Weren't all funds raised "on behalf of this misadventure" (the January 18th arrest and resulting jail time) raised for the express purpose of getting Adam out of jail? Every link I have seen to the fundraiser page states that this arrest--or some consequence of it, such as impound fees, etc,--is the whole reason for the funds being solicited in the first place. Indeed, this page is not even the main fundraiser page Adam uses for his campaign, but was created after the arrest for the express purpose of channeling funds toward getting Kokesh out.
Where was there a section explicitly specifying that the donations should go to the Libertarian Party? There may be some other sensible, and ethical reason that this happened, though. Perhaps the huge $6,000 single donation from @thejohalfiles here on Steemit was the one that was donated to the Libertarian Party. But wait a minute, the official statement just referenced said that the earmarked funds for bail were set aside for the purpose of bail, so that can't be it, as @thejohalfiles specifically stated his money was for bail.
If @thejohalfiles's donation was earmarked, and all other funds raised from this arrest acquired via the official fundraisers were raised with the EXPRESS PURPOSE OF SETTING ADAM FREE (posting bail, etc), and there was no option to earmark funds to be donated to the LP, then where in the hell did all that money go, and where did the $6,000 come from that was donated to the LP? Was @thejohalfiles contacted and did he approve a change of plans, allowing his generous 6 Gs to be donated to the LP? It's possible, but what then about all the other money raised for bail via the official, non-Steemit-based fundraising page, ESPECIALLY SINCE KOKESH ENDED UP PAYING NO BAIL WHATSOEVER?
Proof that Kokesh did not give up any money for bail. Where did all those donations go, then? Was a detailed account ever given to all of the generous donors?
Things we've established:
1. The claim that the arrest of Adam Kokesh on January 18th, 2018, was a direct result of the announcement of his 2020 presidential bid is not substantiated by any significant evidence, and more rational, probable, and logical explanations exist, in that Kokesh was indeed speeding, driving a vehicle--at least once in an erratic manner (he admits this here at the 0:58 time stamp)--without carrying proof of insurance or registration, and carrying highly illegal drugs on board which he describes as legal "sacraments," (see 8:43 time stamp) and refusing to use his phone to open an email exchange with his friend or call, to prove that the vehicle was indeed, his.
2. It is unclear where thousands of dollars of donations, donated for the EXPRESS PURPOSE OF HELPING ADAM OUT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES RELATED TO HIS RECENT ARREST in Wise County, Texas, are located. Kokesh, in the end, did not have to give up any money for bail. As such, the thousands of dollars in funds donated to his fundraiser are unaccounted for. It is not known if these funds were the ones used to make a $6,000 dollar donation to the Libertarian Party. It is not clear whether all or any donors to the cause may have approved of this change of plans. THERE WAS NO OPTION GIVEN IN THIS FUNDRAISER TO EARMARK DONATIONS TO BE USED TO SUPPORT THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY.
So, was this all a publicity stunt? My personal thoughts.
The integrity of the Kokesh camp is questionable at best. Through a series of highly sensationalized publicity stunts, half-truths, and incessant donation drives, Adam Kokesh and his crew manage to raise large amounts of money, without ever being truly forthcoming or 100% clear in how the money from thousands of generous donors is being used. The Kokesh team claimed Adam hadn't been charged, when charges were readily knowable via a quick phone call to the jail or internet search. They claimed there was "no contraband in the van" though the truth is that Adam was in possession of several commonly highly illegal substances, but carries a special card which he claims allows him to carry them legally.
Other questionable financial dealings/patterns, and Abuse of Steemit Platform:
Kokesh has a questionable, if amusing, historical pattern of 1. going to jail on purpose, 2. requesting support/donations via a team member (or more typically, his current girlfriend) on YouTube, and then 3. using the sensationalized event to fuel his next activist initiative such as a speaking tour, fundraiser, etc. This time he even got his own mom in on the action, claiming there was a mainstream media "blackout." A media blackout for getting busted for drugs and speeding by state goons in Texas? Why would the media care?
Kokesh also has a questionable history when it comes to financial dealings and responsibly handling payment obligations, donations (as evidenced by this article), and also Steem Power delegations (he recently has been upvoting his own comments, personally attacking those questioning his platform or politics, at over $100, $20, and $10 dollars a comment, using delegated Steem not intended for those purposes. The SP donor, @jamesc, verifies this in the comments section of this post. Kokesh also upvotes every one of his own posts using this delegated SP at $80 - $100. As an Anarcho-Capitalist I want NO PLATFORM REGULATION to attempt to stop this. I am just voicing my market preference for more varied content in the trending section, instead of this shitshow.
Kokesh claims to love the platform, but his activity here tells an entirely different story.
Summary:
Watch out for sensationalized, dishonest BS. Watch out for folks asking for donations not giving detailed accounts of how the money was spent, or changing the plans for how the money will be spent without consent of the donors, mid-game. Watch out for politicians who personally attack and criticize those who question their ideas. Watch out for folks who say they "love the community here at Steemit," but abuse the rewards pool and delegated SP, and don't take two seconds to consistently post or engage, unless the Steem price is doing well and there is political favor to be won.
If you have read all the way to the end of this extensive, investigative piece, I commend you. It's taken me awhile to put together. I am not, as some have attempted to imply, obsessed with Adam Kokesh on some weird, personal level.
I view him as a dishonest politician, fraudulently posing (whether intentionally or not) as a Voluntaryist and garnering donations under said false Voluntaryist pretense (while simultaneously peddling the force-based political system/electoral process as legitimate) via half-truths, sensationalized stunts, and their resultant hyped-up, dishonest donation drives. He is abusing this platform so many of us love and have been with through all the ups and downs, via his Steem delegation. All of this Steem-milking seems to be for almost the sole purpose of political gain.
After doing all the research required for this article, and seeing how Adam has been a sort of libertarian mainstream media star over the last decade, I am now open to entertaining the notion that the Kokesh 2020 movement may very well be controlled opposition. I am not yet fully convinced of this, however. What I am convinced of, though, is that the claims of Kokesh and his team don't add up logically, and that deception is being used to benefit Kokesh and his team both financially and politically, to the detriment of libertarians everywhere, and the Voluntaryist philosophy in general.
I hope you will look at the facts and arrive at your own independent conclusions. I hope to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Cheers.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DTube and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)