Louis J. Marinelli
Louis J. Marinelli | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the California National Party | |
Interim | |
| In office January 6, 2016 – June 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Theo Slater |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1986 or 1987 (age 38–39) Buffalo, New York[1] |
| Political party | CNP (2016) |
| Residence(s) | Yekaterinburg, Russia (2016–2021) Arkansas (2022–present) |
| Alma mater | Oregon State University |
| Occupation | Political activist |
| Organization(s) | National Organization for Marriage (2010–2011) Yes California (2015–2024) |
| Movement | California independence |
Louis J. Marinelli (born 1986 or 1987) is an American political activist, known for launching the California secessionist group Yes California. Having served as the interim chairman of the California National Party and run for California's 80th State Assembly district under its banner, he later gained notoriety for moving to Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2016; he has since returned to the United States with his family.
Early life
Marinelli was born in Buffalo, New York in 1986 or 1987.[1]
Political activism
National Organization for Marriage
In the summer of 2010, Marinelli was paid by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) for a national bus tour to rally against same-sex marriage.[2] In December of that same year, Marinelli broke ranks with the NOM by announcing support for the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" military policy.[2]
On April 11, 2011, Marinelli announced his support for marriage equality.[2][3][4] NOM threatened Marinelli with legal action for violating a confidentiality agreement, telling him to remove copies of the group's internal materials from his website.[5][6]
California secessionist movement
Claiming to be disillusioned with the United States government and political system, Marinelli launched a campaign for California to secede from the United States and become an independent country. Initially called Sovereign California and later rebranded as Yes California in 2015, it was predominantly inspired by the Yes Scotland campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[7]
In 2015, Marinelli was the primary proponent of several citizen ballot initiatives calling for California's eventual secession from the United States. Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison wrote that Marinelli "has paid $200 a pop to try to get nine initiatives on a statewide ballot, all of them about making California not an entirely separate country but a 'first among equal' sovereign entity distinct from those 49 also-rans."[8] In late 2016, Marinelli and Yes California began to gather signatures to qualify another secession measure for the ballot in November 2018,[9] but Yes California abandoned the campaign in April 2017 after months of negative publicity relating to Marinelli's move to Russia and alleged links to Vladimir Putin.[10]
2016 campaign for California State Assembly
Marinelli ran for the California State Assembly in California's 80th State Assembly district against Lorena Gonzalez.[11] Marinelli's platform was to push for California's secession from the United States.
Marinelli's ballot designation was "California Independence Leader". Marinelli did not list a party preference, as the California National Party was not ballot-qualified in the state.[12] In the primary, Marinelli received 6.4 percent of the vote and did not continue to the general election.
Ties to Russian government influence operations
In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Russian national Alexander Ionov for collaborating with the Russian government in an attempt to influence U.S. elections.[13] The Sacramento Bee identified Marinelli and Yes California as beneficiaries of Ionov's support. Marinelli acknowledged that he knew Ionov, but denied that he knowingly aided the Russian government.[14]
Life in Russia
Marinelli first visited Russia in 2006 on a student exchange program with Saint Petersburg State University.[15] Over the next five years he spent time between California and Russia, teaching English in Samara and Kazan before settling in San Diego in 2011.[15]
In 2016, Marinelli moved to Yekaterinburg, Russia with his wife, partially for visa reasons.[15][16] In 2017, announcing withdrawal of Yes California's independence ballot measure from the 2018 election, Marinelli confirmed his intention to live in Russia, stating, "I have found in Russia a new happiness, a life without the albatross of frustration and resentment towards one's homeland, and a future detached from the partisan divisions and animosity that [have] thus far engulfed my entire adult life."[17]
Marinelli moved to Moscow in the fall of 2018.[18] In the summer of 2019, Marinelli was briefly detained by Moscow police while attending an unsanctioned political march in support of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov.[19]
In August 2020, Marinelli authored a Russian-language essay professing his love of reading to young children, and asserting that he was confident that the collapse of the United States was imminent.[20]
Marinelli returned to the United States, and as of August 2022 was living in Arkansas.[14]
Electoral history
2016 California State Assembly
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Lorena Gonzalez (incumbent) | 55,150 | 74.6 | |
| Republican | Lincoln Pickard | 14,015 | 19.0 | |
| No party preference | Louis J. Marinelli | 4,753 | 6.4 | |
| Total votes | 73,918 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Lorena Gonzalez (incumbent) | 108,655 | 77.8 | |
| Republican | Lincoln Pickard | 30,917 | 22.2 | |
| Total votes | 139,572 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
- ^ a b "Analysis | He's the founder of a Californian independence movement. Just don't ask him why he lives in Russia". Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- ^ a b c Conant, Eve (13 April 2011). "An Anti-Gay Marriage Crusader on His Conversion". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ "Conservative Defects From Anti-Gay Group, Now Supports Same-Sex Marriage". www.talkingpointsmemo.com. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ "MSNBC covers Courage Campaign and Louis Marinelli's conversion". www.youtube.com. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ "NOM Legal Threat Against Marinelli". www.signorile.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ Reilly, Ryan (2011-04-19). "Anti-Gay Marriage Group NOM Threatens To Sue Defector". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ Morrison, Patt (26 August 2015). "Meet the man who wants to make California a sovereign entity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
- ^ Morrison, Patt (2015-08-26). "Meet the man who wants to make California a sovereign entity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ Luna, Taryn (2016-12-01). "California's Calexit secession plan faces tall political hurdles". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ Miller, Jim; Luna, Taryn (2017-04-18). "Calexit measure dropped, say sponsors, who plan new push". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ Abcarian, Robin (2016-01-22). "California Journal: A political searcher agitates for the independent nation of California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ "California Secretary of State's Notice to Candidates" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
- ^ "Russian National Charged With Conspiring To Have U.S. Citizens Act As Illegal Agents Of The Russian Government | USAO-MDFL | Department of Justice". United States Department of Justice. 2022-08-21. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ a b Stanton, Sam (2022-08-21). "Indicted Russian tied to California secession, court docs say". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ a b c Ragozin, Leonid (2016-12-07). "How to Make California Great: Secede, With a Little Help From Putin". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ Sheffield, Matthew (18 April 2017). "CalExit in trouble: Leader of California secession movement resigns, applies for Russian citizenship". Salon. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ Bertrand, Natasha. "The leader of 'Calexit' just announced he's abandoning the movement and settling permanently in Russia". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
- ^ Krutov, Mark (June 13, 2019). "Сепаратист на марше. Американец, которого не взяли в автозак". Freedom Radio.
- ^ Goryvich, Artyem. "Калифорнийский "сепаратист" стал героем ролика "Американец? Свободен!"". Голос Америки. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
- ^ Marinelli, Louis (4 August 2020). ""Жизнь в Екатеринбурге была проще. Люди тоже"". It's My City. Retrieved 2021-11-23.