Louis J. Marinelli

Louis J. Marinelli (born 1986 or 1987) is an American political activist known for having launched a campaign for California independence in 2014, rebranded as Yes California in 2015. Marinelli was the president of Yes California and the former interim chairman of the California National Party, under which he had run for the California State Assembly in California's 80th State Assembly district. The district covers south San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, San Ysidro, and surrounding communities where Marinelli lived and where he taught English for EF Education First. In 2016, he moved to Yekaterinburg, Russia to teach English abroad, relocating to Moscow two years later to become a kindergarten English teacher. Marinelli left Russia with his family in December 2021, and returned to the United States.

Prior to his California secession and independence activism, Marinelli was a controversial figure in the debate over same-sex marriage in the United States, up until his public resignation from the National Organization for Marriage in April 2011 and his expressed support for same-sex marriage.