Kai Newkirk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
August 26, 1980
- Organizer
- Activist
Kai Newkirk | |
|---|---|
 Newkirk in 2024 | |
| Born | Noah Kai Newkirk August 26, 1980 Hinton, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Co-founding 99Rise; leading Democracy Spring; 2014 Supreme Court disruption |
Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Website | kaiforaz |
Noah Kai Newkirk (born August 26, 1980), known as Kai Newkirk, is an American progressive organizer and activist. He co-founded the campaign-finance reform group 99Rise[1][2] and was the lead organizer of Democracy Spring, a 2016 sit-in at the United States Capitol in which more than 400 people were arrested in a single day demanding action on campaign-finance and voting-rights legislation.[3][4] He first drew national attention in February 2014, when he interrupted oral arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States in a protest against Citizens United v. FEC; the action was captured in what was widely reported as the first publicly released video recording from inside the Court's chamber.[5][6][7]
Newkirk has since organized protests directed at Donald Trump, Kyrsten Sinema, and Joe Biden. In 2026, he announced a Democratic primary challenge to U.S. Representative Greg Stanton in Arizona's 4th congressional district.[8][9][10]
Newkirk was born in Hinton, West Virginia. He has said his organizing work began with the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle.[5]
Activism
99Rise and the 2014 Supreme Court disruption
In 2012, Newkirk co-founded 99Rise, a Los Angeles-based group inspired by Occupy Wall Street that aimed to build sustained nonviolent civil disobedience against the influence of money in politics.[1][2]
On February 26, 2014, Newkirk stood up during oral argument at the Supreme Court and called on the justices to overturn the Citizens United ruling.[5][6] Other 99Rise activists secretly filmed the disruption, and the group later released the footage, which was widely reported as the first publicly released video from inside the Court's chamber.[6] Newkirk was arrested following the protest[5] and was subsequently barred from Supreme Court premises following his conviction.[7] Vice described him in a profile that year as a "longtime labor and environmental activist who cut his teeth in the global justice movement," and reported his goal of recruiting "a nonviolent army" of at least 10,000 people willing to commit civil disobedience to overturn Citizens United.[5]
In 2014, Newkirk also led 99Rise's 480-mile, 37-day California "March for Democracy" from Los Angeles City Hall to the California State Capitol in Sacramento, followed by twelve days of sit-ins at the Capitol.[2]
2015 disruption of the Republican presidential debate
On December 15, 2015, Newkirk interrupted Donald Trump from the balcony during the CNN Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, shouting that "the American people deserve free and fair elections, not billionaire auctions" before being removed from the venue.[11][12] Bustle profiled him afterward as the "heckler" who had previously made headlines for secretly recording a Supreme Court proceeding.[12]
Democracy Spring (2016)
Newkirk was the campaign director and lead organizer of Democracy Spring, a coalition that staged a ten-day march from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. followed by sit-ins at the U.S. Capitol from April 11 to April 18, 2016, demanding congressional action on campaign-finance and voting-rights legislation.[3][4] Democracy Now! reported on April 12, 2016 that more than 400 people had been arrested on the first day of the Capitol sit-ins, with arrests continuing across the week.[4] Actor Mark Ruffalo pledged to join the sit-in.[3] Newkirk also addressed delegates outside the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in a C-SPAN segment carried during Washington Journal.[13]
Arizona Coalition to End the Filibuster and Sinema pledge (2021–2022)
After moving to Arizona, Newkirk founded the Arizona Coalition to End the Filibuster and, in September 2021, launched a Crowdpac pledge campaign threatening to fund a Democratic primary challenger to U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema unless she voted to end or reform the Senate filibuster and to advance President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda.[14][15][16] NBC News described the effort as one of several progressive operations attempting to lay the groundwork for a primary challenge to Sinema in 2024.[14]
Climate activism and 2023 Biden interruption
Newkirk is the founder and president of For All, a Tempe-based "center for nonviolent action and organizing."[17] On September 28, 2023, he interrupted President Joe Biden during a speech at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, shouting "Why have you yet to declare a climate emergency?" Biden offered to meet with him after the speech.[18][19][17]
Gaza ceasefire activism (2024)
On November 12, 2024, Newkirk was among nine people arrested at a White House sit-in demanding that the United States impose an arms embargo on Israel over its conduct in the Gaza war. He served as the action's principal spokesperson, calling for an embargo "to impose a cease-fire and end our complicity in Israel's horrific war crimes in Gaza."[20]
Arizona Democratic Party Progressive Council
Newkirk has served as co-chair of the Arizona Democratic Party's Progressive Council and was a leading proponent of the "People's Primary" resolution, which would bar corporate and billionaire contributions in the party's primary races.[21][22] Arizona Capitol Times reported in January 2026 that the resolution had divided state Democrats over outside spending.[21]
2026 candidacy for U.S. House
On March 12, 2026, Newkirk announced a Democratic primary challenge to incumbent U.S. Representative Greg Stanton in Arizona's 4th congressional district, which covers Tempe and parts of the East Valley.[8][9] His campaign platform calls for disbanding ICE, Medicare for All, an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, and tuition-free public college.[23] Asked in 2026 whether he identified as a "democratic socialist," Newkirk said that he did.[10]