![IMG_2338-cropped.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdGMcRRygyJ4RQRhUCS3n9EnXmtgMAWcq9SZxYU6nJMJm/IMG_2338-cropped.jpg)

Early Years

Adam Kokesh was born on February 1, 1982 in California. Growing up he played sports every season and read numerous books at the encouragement of his parents. His interest in science and technology led him to many science fair victories and NASA's Space Camp. After middle school, where he played trumpet in the band and basketball, at the encouragement of a friend of a parent who was a former Marine, he went to "Devil Pups," a junior boot camp-style citizenship and fitness program hosted by the Marines at Camp Pendleton. In high school he participated in Model UN, taught silversmithing classes, and founded a campus radio station. During the summers he worked at a print shop and with horses. He is the only non-native to graduate from the Native American Preparatory School formerly of San Miguel County, New Mexico. He received his bachelor's degree in Psychology from Claremont McKenna College where he played rugby, sang in the choir, and competed with the ballroom dance team. ![NAPS-300x205.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVRvBmF2MDWxmUbymJmpGHDCara7dcbmpLpr72RB2ey13/NAPS-300x205.jpg)

Military Background

Adam's grandfather, Charles Henry Kokesh, was a pilot in World War II as one of the "Flying Sergeants," was awarded a Silver Star, and was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor. Inspired by this and and the Marines he met in Devil Pups, Adam enlisted in the Marines while still in high school at the age of 17. He completed boot camp and Marine Combat Training in San Diego, Field Artillery School at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, and NBC Training (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) in Texas. He was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal for his work as a Recruiter's Assistant and played for the All-Marine Rugby Team. He volunteered to go to Fallujah in 2004 with a Marine Corps Civil Affairs team where he was meritoriously promoted to Sergeant. For his tour he received a Navy Commendation Medal and Combat Action Ribbon. ![285-300x206.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZrMyCp7GDKfpLovrigmKdShatUfvVkcDAnVaFcJmF7jc/285-300x206.jpg)

Political Activism

In 2007, Kokesh joined Iraq Veterans Against the War and helped bring the organization to national prominence as its most visible leader. He first came to national attention for holding up a score card during Alberto Gonzales' testimony to Congress regarding the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys keeping track of how many times he said, "I don't recall." His photograph appeared in many national newspapers and resulted in dozens of TV interviews. He was later to become the story himself when prosecuted unlawfully by the Marine Corps (while he was in the inactive reserves) for staging a street theater protest that included a mock combat patrol, "to bring a small piece of the reality of war home to Washington, DC." ![1-capitol-856-300x225.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSdxypcQtkcbdqzcLm3FnNwgjQQkV6tb2V3q3JCmWWBZr/1-capitol-856-300x225.jpg) Adam was an active supporter of Ron Paul and would eventually come to found and lead Veterans for Ron Paul, organizing a stunning march on the White House for vets to turn their back on Obama and raise awareness about military suicide. He was invited to speak at the 2008 Revolution March in DC organized by grassroots Ron Paul supporters and his speech that day is what put him on the map as a promising representative of the freedom movement. ![MG_8788_HZ-300x184.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVN82sXV7jpRqaxgbCCzXr2jmwFA5KQWiiCJcrvvtHPXT/MG_8788_HZ-300x184.jpg) After the debate on Iraq was won, Adam turned his attention to other freedom causes and continued his effective advocacy, organizing, and civil disobedience. He has been arrested over three dozen times for protesting, smoking cannabis, not smoking cannabis, cursing, filming on the sidewalk, and even dancing. ![090-0508023520-AdamVSTheManMemorialJefferson-300x168.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfYwgDQNKu6J1nAmfZq3hRK8KVZ6tcvMzLZBXFiCZFLDZ/090-0508023520-AdamVSTheManMemorialJefferson-300x168.jpg)

From "Mainstream" to Independent and Back

Adam first began his career in media with the birth of ADAM VS THE MAN as a radio show in Albuquerque on KIVA in 2010. After six months it was picked up as a TV show for RT America. After four months on the air, he was fired for criticizing Putin and went independent online to focus on podcasting and YouTube, where he has over 60 million views. He is well known for using Nonviolent Communication and Socratic Dialogue techniques in his "man on the street" videos. Recently he has shifted focus to blockchain-based social media and is very active as a promoter of Steemit where he releases exclusive content. ![AVTM-logo-BW-300x161.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVjZC9RTcAm5bHiShXtvcqVcty35rksZQGXCPCz5xCmCW/AVTM-logo-BW-300x161.jpg) While in jail in Washington, DC in 2013, he began writing FREEDOM!, now considered a "bible for voluntaryism." The book is in its fourth printing and has been downloaded over 2 million times. With the platform he has built for himself, he was able to successfully self-publish and make it available for free in every digital format possible including audiobook. In a jailhouse interview with Fox 5 DC during that time, Kokesh announced his plans to run for President of the United States in 2020 on a platform of an orderly, peaceful, and responsible dissolution of the U.S. Federal Government. He is currently working on his second book, a war memoir titled, "Hot, Dirty, & Dangerous - How seven months in Fallujah challenged my patriotism." His third book, "American Freedom!" will detail the platform of dissolving the federal government and is schedule for release on July 4, 2019 to kick off the "American Freedom Tour." One of the reasons for his success is his commitment to doing a national tour hitting 100+ cities every year. FREEDOM! was officially endorsed by the US Department of Justice when they banned it from federal prison facilities, declaring "the entire publication" to be, "a threat to the good order and discipline of the institution." ![IMAG1372-300x170.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmR7hwettJmEgGj6crP9AX6NZaVkU16QKoSXqXrzbiwEXP/IMAG1372-300x170.jpg)

Famous Kokesh Quotes:

"We don't have to be forced under a single government to be united in American values." "Government is fundamentally immoral because it is based on violating the rights of individuals." "None of the propaganda around war can disguise its true nature. It is massive organized violence for the purpose of expanding government power. It is the height of statism and it is the greatest affront to freedom." "Taxation is an inescapable part of the government racket. If governments never stole they would cease to be governments. If we could withdraw our financial support from them at any time, they would be voluntary cooperatives, or service providers. Because taxation is backed up with the threat of force, it is theft, plain and simple." "The way that we move forward is by localizing government down to the community level. This way, everyone gets what they want. So I call it, 'The everyone gets what they want strategy.' Sounds to me like something everyone can get on board with!" This information and more can be found on my campaign website at: https://kokeshforpresident.com/about-adam/ ![hqdefault.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUQwChzqk4PtjuuJLuzuKrXF2RGpTUG8mGrd7iT64DLiN/hqdefault.jpg)
*I am the author of [FREEDOM!](http://thefreedomline.com/freedom), a book endorsed ([I mean banned](http://thefreedomline.com/us-department-of-justice-bans-freedom/)) by the US Department of “Justice.” You can get a copy [here](thefreedomline.com). I’m running for Not-President in 2020 on the platform of the peaceful, orderly, and responsible dissolution of the United States federal government. You can find out more [here](https://kokeshforpresident.com/). You can find an event near you [here](TheFreedomLine.com/calendar). Whoever has the top comment on this post after 24 hours can claim a free signed copy of FREEDOM! by sending me an email at adam@thefreedomline.com with their address.*