It is said to be a maxim of Libertarian thought that where there is no victim, there is no crime. While the statement makes perfect sense, some have chosen to make excuses for the real crime that is the abuse of the state towards peaceful people.
On January 16, Adam Kokesh formally announced his candidacy for President of the United States as a Libertarian calling for the peaceful and orderly dissolution of the federal government. Less than an hour later, the same individual, who was simply driving down the road, minding his business, was pulled over not once, but twice. He was harassed, a K-9 unit was brought in, his property and person were violated, and he was disallowed the ability to document what was happening to him. Furthermore, Kokesh’s own dog and his property were impounded and he was thrown in jail.
How is this okay? Surprisingly, some people seemed to think it was. When Adam Kokesh was arrested and thrown in a cage a couple weeks ago, there were comments in response to the event, even some from Libertarians, to the tune of “he shouldn’t have been going 9 miles over”, “he should’ve had all his papers in order”, and “he should’ve known better than to have anything illegal on him.” Never mind that agents have been filmed planting illegal items on him in the past in an attempt to hamper his activism. Never mind that he was forbidden to document what was happening. Never mind that Adam’s own dog likely contributed to the excitement of the police K-9. Never mind the possibility that maybe he wasn’t actually speeding, or anything else, but could have instead, simply have been being harassed. Who knows? Never mind all that, “papers please”.
If what the police are saying is true, (arguably doubtful), but for argument’s sake, even if it was true, why defend the state over victimless “crimes”? How about the real crime of locking someone up for hurting no one? How about the crime of being thrown in a cage without even being given your charges for days on end? How about the mind-blowing silence of the media? How about the fact that they tried to extort Kokesh for thousands of dollars, (bail money), without even telling him what he was being charged with? Adding insult to injury, when those who did see the injustice of this incident began to speak out by becoming the media themselves, and by calling and showing up at the jail to protest, Kokesh was threatened by police and had to be bailed out for his own safety. When his dog and his RV “No Force One” were released to him, the police had not only ransacked his home away from home, but there were electronics in the sink, items thrown in the toilet, and the whole place was a scene of property destruction. It’s not okay! In terms of crime, it seems that it was Kokesh who was victimized.
Kokesh has stated he did not have any contraband. Even if he did, do we really believe that people should be punished when they've hurt no one? Is there something wrong with natural medicines? Institutions seeking money, power and control have a vested interest in making them illegal, not the public. The pharmaceutical, military and prison industrial complexes are swelling with ill gotten profit. Do we really want to continue to support the organized criminal rackets that are being used to strip away rights of individuals to move about freely or be secure in persons and property? Can we not see the government is using excuses to intimidate and to spy on individuals, breaking into their homes, while normalizing the intrusion in the minds of a sleeping public? There are no good excuses when peaceful individuals are being threatened, caged and abused. The more excuses we make for injustice, the more excuses injustice can make up to enact aggression upon peaceful individuals.