John Cobin

John Macarewich Cobin (born 10 March 1963) is an American-born Chilean economist and politician. He has taught at various Chilean intitutions and was arrested after opening fire at protesters during the Chilean social outburst of 2019 in Reñaca.[2]

John Cobin
Cobin in 2013
Born
John Macarewich Cobin

(1963-03-10) March 10, 1963
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
NationalityChilean
Political partyLibertarian (2006)
Criminal charge(s)Serious injuries, simple damage, and unjustified firing of a firearm
Criminal penalty6 years of prison
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Spouse(s)
Pamela Sepúlveda Mendoza
​
​
(m. 2010)​
[1]
Children7
Parents
  • George Cobin (father)
  • Joan Audrey Cobin (mother)
Websitepolicyofliberty.net

Biography

John Cobin was born to Joan Audrey Cobin née Tagliere (born 1929), a nurse from New York, and George Cobin (1939-1966), an athlete and mathematician from Santa Monica, California.[3] He had one sister, Gina Marie Davis née Cobin (born 1965). His father passed away from cancer in April 1966.[4]

He studied at various educational institutes, including the Reformed Bible College,[5] the California State University, the University of California, and the George Mason University. In total he has a Ph.D. in Public Policy, an M.A. in economics, two M.A.'s in Business economics, and an A.R.E. in Liberal Arts and Religious Studies.[6]

He immigrated to Chile in 1996,[2] fleeing Bill Clinton's government due to its policies regarding taxation.[7] The following year, he became an economics professor.[6]

In 2006, he ran for Congress in South Carolina's 4th congressional district as a member of the Libertarian party. He lost, only earning 4,467 votes, or 2.48% of the total count.

During this time period, he was accused of pushing and shoving his wife multiple times during an argument over the custody of their son, Paul Cobin, causing her to develop bruises.[8] He denied all accusations, but was ultimately arrested on charges of domestic violence.[2] However, all of the charges were dropped.[9]

John Cobin with his spouse, Pamela Sepúlveda.

In 2012, he, along with three other Americans, founded a libertarian compound in the Chilean mountainside, titled "Galt’s Gulch", named in honor of the fictional capitalist society represented in Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged.[9]

In 2013, he claimed that "there is no one more neoliberal than me in the country" in an interview with The Clinic. He also claimed that he was friends with Hermógenes Pérez de Arce Ibieta, a right-wing Chilean politician, and Axel Kaiser, a Chilean political scientist.[10]

Up until 2015, he was an economics teacher at the Andrés Bello National University.[11]

On the 22nd of August of 2017, his oldest son, Joshua Stuart Cobin (born 1988), attended an rally against then-US president Donald Trump. He was arrested after kicking back a tear gas canister towards police officers, after which he was hit in the groin by a pepper ball.[12][7]

2019 Reñaca shooting
External video
John Cobin attacked in Reñaca and had to defend himself on YouTube (4 mins)

On the 10th of November 2019, he opened fire on Chilean demonstrators in Reñaca, Chile, wounding Luis Jesús Ahumada Villegas, a 33-year old protester, in the leg.[13][14] After this, he recorded a YouTube video, confessing to the crime and claiming that he acted in "self-defense".[15] Due to this, he was convicted of attempted homicide and committing an unjustifiable shooting on public roads.[11] Even though he claimed his actions were based on self-defense, the court rejected said explanation, commenting that "the requirements of legitimate defense are not met".[16] He was sentenced to 11 years of jail time,[14] which was later reduced to 6.[17]

In 2020, it was revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19.[18]

Electoral history
Main article: 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina § District 4
South Carolina 2006 Midterm Elections[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Inglis 115,553 64.22
Democratic William Griffith 57,490 31.95
Libertarian John Cobin 4,467 2.48
Green C. Faye Walters 2,336 1.30
Write-in votes 85 0.05
Total 179,931 100.00

References
  1. "El historial del tirador de Reñaca y su militancia en "League of the South" grupo armado, racista y de extrema derecha de EEUU". Resumen.cl. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  2. Armus, Teo (2019-11-11). "A Californian economist loves neoliberalism. When Chileans started protesting it, he opened fire on them". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  3. Cobin, Rachel (2014-06-04). "Inspired & Inspirited". Murmurs. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  4. "George Cobin". Billion Graves. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  5. "Alumni Directory: A to Z". Reformed. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  6. "Summary of Qualifications". Dr. John Cobin. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  7. Velásquez, Fredi; Siredey, Francisco (2019-11-17). "John Cobin: el camino de un fanático". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  8. "Libertarian congressional candidate denies domestic violence charge". WIS News. 2006-11-06. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  9. Bodzin, Steven (2014). "Libertarians Plan to Sit Out the Coming Collapse of America…in Chile". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  10. Pizarro, Claudio (2013-11-23). "John Cobin, el gringo que quiere "colonizar" Curacaví: "No hay una persona más neoliberal que yo en este país"". The Clinic (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  11. Cabeza, Pablo (2020-10-16). "John Cobin es hallado culpable de homicidio frustrado simple y otros 3 delitos". Página7 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  12. Baker, David; Staahl, Derek. "Man hit by gas round in viral video now faces charges for aggravated assault on police". AZFamily. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  13. "Fiscalía pide 17 años de cárcel para John Cobin ad portas de preparación de juicio oral". MSN Noticias (in Spanish). 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  14. "El tribunal de Viña del Mar condena a John Cobin a 11 años de prisión". Noticias Colchagua (in Spanish). 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  15. "John Cobin habla tras los disparos en su canal de Youtube". 2019-11-10 – via YouTube.
  16. "Condenan por homicidio frustrado y otros delitos a autor de disparos en Reñaca durante manifestaciones". 24 Horas (in Spanish). 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  17. Mennickent, Camila (2021-02-18). "Rebajan sentencia a John Cobin, estadounidense condenado por disparos en Reñaca". BioBioChile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  18. "El "pistolero de Reñaca" tendría coronavirus: tribunal pide antecedentes a Gendarmería". Publimetro (in Spanish). 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  19. "South Carolina 2006 Midterm Election". The Green Papers. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
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