Dan Choi Daniel Choi ( born February 22 , 1981 ) is a former American infantry officer in the United States Army who served in combat in the Iraq war during 2006 - 2007 . He became an LGBT rights activist following his coming out on " The Rachel Maddow Show " in March 2009 and has publicly challenged America ' s Don ' t Ask , Don ' t Tell policy , which forbade lesbian , gay and bisexual ( LGB ) service members from serving openly . On October 19 , 2010 , Choi applied to rejoin the US Army . Early life . Choi is a native of Orange County , California , the son of a Korean - American Baptist minister . He graduated from Tustin High School then attended the United States Military Academy at West Point . Choi was very active with extracurriculars during his high school years . He served as student body president , was on the varsity swim team , and was the marching band drum major . During his senior year , after watching " Saving Private Ryan " , he decided to attend West Point . Military education and career . Choi graduated from West Point in 2003 with degrees in Arabic and environmental engineering . Choi served as an infantry officer in Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division in 2006 and 2007 . In June 2008 , he transferred from active duty Army to the New York National Guard . Choi served as a National Guardsman with the 1st Battalion , 69th Infantry , based in Manhattan . Choi received a discharge letter following his coming out on " The Rachel Maddow Show " . In response , Choi penned an open letter to U . S . President Barack Obama and the United States Congress . In the letter , Choi challenged the morality and wisdom of Don ' t Ask , Don ' t Tell , writing that the policy is " a slap in the face to me . It is a slap in the face to my soldiers , peers and leaders who have demonstrated that an infantry unit can be professional enough to accept diversity , to accept capable leaders , to accept skilled soldiers . " Despite his appeal and a Courage Campaign petition signed by almost 162 , 000 people , on June 30 , 2009 , a panel of New York National Guard officers recommended that Choi be discharged from the military . As of February 2010 , Choi was serving again in his National Guard reserve unit , the discharge having not yet been " finalized " . On June 29 , 2010 , Choi ' s discharge was finalized . Choi is among 59 gay Arabic linguists , along with nine gay Farsi linguists , who have faced a discharge from the U . S . military from 2004 through 2009 , according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network . Gay rights activism . Since Choi ' s coming out , 38 West Point alumni also came out and announced the formation of Knights Out , an organization of West Point alumni who support the rights of LGBT soldiers to serve openly . Choi was one of the founding members and is the spokesperson for the group . The organization offers " to help their alma mater educate future Army leaders on the need to accept and honor the sacrifices of lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender troops . " Choi has also spoken at numerous gay rights events , including a march in Los Angeles following the California Supreme Court ' s affirmation of Proposition 8 . On May 27 , 2009 , he addressed a demonstration of gay activists outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel , where President Barack Obama was speaking at a Democratic National Committee fund raising event . In addition , Choi spoke at the 2009 Pride Rally in New York City and served as a Grand Marshal alongside Knights Out in San Francisco ' s 2009 Gay Pride Parade . On July 16 , 2009 , Choi was in Culver City , California , to introduce the premiere of Abe Forman - Greenwald ' s documentary called " Silent Partners " . The documentary is the fourth episode in the " In Their Boots " series , with the episode focusing on the partners of LGBT soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan . In the episode , Choi criticizes the U . S . military ' s neglect of the partners of service members . In February 2010 Choi was selected to be a Grand Marshal of the 41st Annual New York LGBT Pride March by its producers , Heritage of Pride . At the event , Choi led the Pledge of Allegiance at the New York City Council Chambers . In March 2013 , Outright Libertarians announced that Dan Choi was joining the GLBTQ caucus of the Libertarian Party as an honorary board member . In June 2013 , Choi and numerous other celebrities appeared in a video showing support for Bradley Manning . 2010 protests and arrests . On March 18 , 2010 , Choi and another ousted military officer , Capt . Jim Pietrangelo , handcuffed themselves to the fence of the White House . They were eventually removed with the use of a master handcuff key and arrested . Choi and Pietrangelo were initially set to be tried for " failure to obey a lawful order " on April 26 , 2010 . Trial was postponed until July 14 , at which time the charges against both men were dropped . On April 20 , 2010 , Choi and Pietrangelo again participated in a self - chaining protest on the White House fence with Petty Officer Larry Whitt , Petty Officer ( Rtd . ) Autumn Sandeen , Cadet Mara Boyd and Cpl . Evelyn Thomas . All six were removed with a master hand - cuff key and arrested . On May 27 , 2010 , Choi and Pietrangelo began a hunger strike until President Obama ends DADT and adds a non - discrimination policy to the military code . They ended the hunger strike seven days later , with Choi saying , " The fast of the past seven days has been a success because people have been educated to the use of fasting as a tool to bring attention to a set of clear political and social demands . " In November , 2010 , Choi again handcuffed himself to the White House fence with 12 other protestors . He was subsequently arrested and charged in Federal court . The case of United States v . Choi took more than two years to conclude . On March 28 , 2013 , Choi was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of " Failure to Obey Lawful Order " and fined $ 100 . Court ruling , reinstatement of commission . On October 12 , 2010 , U . S . federal judge Virginia Phillips ordered the Department of Defense to stop enforcing “ don ’ t ask , don ’ t tell ” – the law that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military . On October 19 , Judge Phillips further refused a federal government request to stay the order pending appeal . That same day , Dan Choi went to the Times Square recruiting station in New York to rejoin the U . S . Army ( referred to in one source as " reaccesion " ) ; his request is in process . Choi reaffirmed his intention to rejoin the service on December 19 . Following the repeal of " don ' t ask , don ' t tell " by Congress , Choi was present at the U . S . Interior Department to attend President Obama ' s signing of the bill on December 22 , 2010 . 2011 arrest in Moscow . On May 28 , 2011 , Choi was among a number of both Russian and foreign activists ( including Louis - Georges Tin and Andy Thayer ) who were arrested by Moscow police when Moscow Pride was held in spite of a ban by city authorities .