Briefly... CITY/REGION

Pot activist exits joint after charges reduced

Adam Kokesh, the ex-Marine who was arrested at a pro-marijuana rally last weekend on Independence Mall, was released from jail yesterday after the U.S. Attorney's Office changed his charges to misdemeanors.

Authorities had said Kokesh, 31, had "assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded and interfered" with federal officers - a felony offense - at last Saturday's "Smokedown Prohibition."

Kokesh refused to reveal his address and home phone number during a court hearing Thursday, saying he preferred to stay behind bars.

He told his public defender that he feared for his safety and couldn't accept bail terms that would prohibit him from having a firearm or would make his home address public.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Kokesh was instead re-charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with agency function and issued citations.

Yardley, Havertown helpers headed to Okla.

Two more local American Red Cross volunteers were set this morning to head to Oklahoma to assist with disaster efforts after a tornado ravaged a suburban town just outside Oklahoma City.

Kay Rossi, of Yardley, will work as a casework supervisor, and Joe Cirillo, of Havertown, will work as a logistics and security supervisor, according to an American Red Cross spokesman.

Both are volunteers with the Red Cross' Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter and will join volunteer Danielle Stoppel, of Fairmount in Philadelphia, who deployed Tuesday to Oklahoma to volunteer as a mental-health supervisor.

The tornado that hit Moore, Okla., on Monday killed 24 people.

- Daily News staff