Sovereign Citizen Movement. Sovereign Citizen …History The "sovereign citizen" movement is a...

Sovereign Citizen MovementSovereign Citizen Movement

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …History …History

The "sovereign citizen" movement is a loosely organized collection of groups and individuals who have adopted a

right-wing anarchist ideology that adherents believe that virtually all existing government in the United

States is illegitimate and they seek to "restore" an idealized, minimalist

government that never actually existed.


Sovereign citizen movement is a subculture that has its roots in hate

groups like the KKK or extremist groups similar to the Posse Comitatus of the

1970’s.


Sovereign citizens wage war against the government and other forms of authority using "paper terrorism" harassment and

intimidation tactics, and resorting to violence; particularly directed at police

officers and judges.


The FBI lists them among the nation's top domestic

terror threats.


In the mid-1990s, the IRS estimated

that there were approximately 250,000 such tax protesters in the U.S., not all of

whom were full-blown sovereign ideologues.


Since the late 1990s, an abundance of evidence suggests that the sovereign citizen movement's growth has been

explosive, although there have been no more recent IRS estimates because

Congress in 1998 prohibited the agency from tracking or labeling those who file

frivolous arguments in lieu of paying their taxes.


Today, CBS News estimates, there are as many as 300,000 sovereign citizens in

the U.S. And with the sluggish economy and mortgage mess, their ranks are

growing.


It is difficult to say precisely how many sovereigns there are in the United

States today, in part because there is no central leadership and no organized group that members can join — instead, there are a variety of local leaders with

individualized takes on sovereign citizen ideology and techniques.


The sovereign citizen movement has a presence in every state in the country, and is particularly active in California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Montana,

Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.


The most noted "guru" is Alfred Adask,

who stated in one of his writings:

We have the right to keep and bear arms in order to shoot our own

politicians. We have the right to keep and bear arms to shoot the police, to shoot your local government officials, your state officials, your president, your congressman, your senators,"

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …Ideology …Ideology

The sovereign citizen movement argues that if you closely study the

Constitution, you can prove that federal laws are illegitimate—leaving you free

to choose not to, say, pay taxes or follow traffic laws.


In their view, the minute you get a Social Security number or driver's license, you

enter into a contract giving up your sovereignty.


Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even

though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or

“sovereign” from the United States.


As a result, they believe

they don’t have to

answer to any

government authority,

including courts,

taxing entities,

motor vehicle departments,

or law enforcement.


At its core, the current sovereign belief system is relatively simple and is based

on a decades-old conspiracy theory.


At some point in history, sovereigns believe, the American government set up by the founding fathers — with a

legal system the sovereigns refer to as "common law" — was secretly replaced by a new government system based on

admiralty law, the law of the sea and international commerce.


Sovereign citizens believe that they are answerable only to English Common

Law and are not subject to any statutes or proceedings at the federal, state or

municipal levels.


Under common law, or so they believe, the sovereigns would be free men.

Under admiralty law, they are slaves, and secret government forces have a vested interest in keeping them that

way.


They especially reject most forms of

taxation as illegitimate.


Participants in the movement argue this concept in opposition to "federal citizens," who, they believe, have

unknowingly forfeited their rights by accepting some aspect of federal law.


Over the last 30 years, there have been hundreds of sovereign promoters packaging

different combinations of forms and paperwork, attempting to perfect the process. While no one has ever succeeded, of course, they know with the religious certainty of a true cult believer that they're close. All it will take

is the right combination of words, say the promoters of the redemption scam.

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …Why They Do It …Why They Do It

Newcomers drift into the movement in a variety of ways.


Originally, the sovereign citizens movement mostly attracted white

supremacists and anti-Semites, mainly because sovereign theories originated in groups who saw Jews as playing a

behind-the-scenes role in manipulating financial institutions and controlling the

government.


In recent years, however, most new recruits are people who have found

themselves in a desperate situation and are searching for a quick fix. Others are intrigued by the notions of easy money and living a lawless life, free from any

unpleasant consequences.


A flagging economy, the foreclosure crisis and a shift in America's demographics

are factors that have fueled recent interest in the movement.


For many, it's a political issue. They don't like taxes, traffic laws, child support obligations or making banks rich, but they are too impatient to try to change what they dislike by traditional, political

means.


In times of economic prosperity, sovereigns typically rely on absurd and convoluted

schemes to evade state and federal income taxes and hide their assets from the IRS. In times of financial hardship, they turn to debt- and mortgage-elimination scams, techniques to avoid child support payments, and even

attempts to use their redemption techniques to get out of serious criminal charges.


A litigation plan based solely on conspiracies and absurd legal theories is doomed to fail. When the inevitable

happens, the sovereign has two choices: he can admit he was wrong

and fell for an obvious scam, or he can blame the government…and it’s

representatives.


Considering that most sovereigns were already desperate when they joined the movement, spending years and many

dollars on worthless redemption techniques can only have worsened

their situation.


Once they realize that their ideology will not grant them their desired outcome, the sovereign takes aim at his perceived

enemies. The judge that dismisses his claim, the county recorder who refuses his filing, the reporter that calls him a deadbeat dad, and

the sheriff who evicts him from his foreclosed home — all are possible targets of a

sovereign's rage.

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …Tactics …Tactics

Sovereign citizens wage war against the government and other forms of authority using "paper terrorism" harassment and

intimidation tactics, and resorting to violence.


The preferred weapon of members of the sovereign citizen movement is what has come to be called "paper terrorism."


Paper terrorism involves the use of fraudulent legal documents and filings,

as well as the misuse of legitimate documents and filings, in order to

intimidate, harass and coerce public officials, law enforcement officers and

private citizens.


A simple traffic violation or pet-licensing case can end up provoking dozens of

court filings containing hundreds of pages of pseudo-legal nonsense.


For example, a sovereign was involved in 2010 in a protracted legal battle over

having to pay a dog-licensing fee. She filed 10 sovereign documents in court

over a two-month period and then declared victory when the harried

prosecutor decided to drop the case.


A favorite paper terrorism strategy is the filing of frivolous lawsuits and personal

liens against public officials, law enforcement officers and private

citizens.


These paper "attacks" intimidate their targets and have the beneficial side

effect of clogging up a court system that sovereign citizens believe is illegitimate.


Although these strategies are primarily considered frivolous, filed liens have

lead to government officials credit ratings being negatively impacted.


Three sovereign citizens were convicted of mail fraud In New York after filing

fake indictments and sending fake bills, totaling $1.24 trillion, to government

officials.


Frivolous liens became such a problem in the 1990s that a majority of states were forced to pass new laws to make filing them illegal, their removal easier, or

both.


In addition to using the Internet to download a variety of boilerplate forms

and documents to wield against the government, how to books, e-based and on-site training programs are

available to assist sovereign citizens.


Scams

Sovereign citizens also have a number of other weapons at their disposal. Many

have engaged in a variety of frauds and scams, often targeting people with

similar ideological beliefs in what might be called affinity fraud.


A few of these schemes, most notably those perpetrated by the Colorado-

based We the People and the Florida-based Greater Ministries International in

the 1990s, took in millions of dollars.


Other sovereign citizen groups, like the Embassy of Heaven and the Washitaw Nation, have specialized in the creation

of fictitious car-related documents ranging from drivers' licenses to license

plates.


In Sacramento, two sovereign citizens were convicted of running a fraudulent insurance scheme. Operating outside state insurance regulatory guidelines, the men set up their

own company and sold "lifetime memberships" to customers, promising to pay any accident claims against their "members." The company collected millions of dollars, but

paid out very few claims.


In Kansas City, three sovereign citizens were convicted of taking part in a conspiracy using phony diplomatic credentials. They charged customers between $450 and $2,000 for a diplomatic identification card, which would

bestow upon the holder "sovereign" status—meaning they would enjoy diplomatic

immunity from paying taxes and from being stopped or arrested by law enforcement.


In Las Vegas, four men affiliated with the sovereign citizen movement were arrested by

the Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force on federal money laundering, tax evasion, and

weapons charges. The investigation involved an undercover operation, with two of the

suspects allegedly laundering more than a million dollars from what they believed was a

bank fraud scheme.


Potential for Violence

Sovereign citizen criminal activity includes violent acts, exemplified recently by the

brutal murder of two West Memphis police officers at the hands of a father and son pair of sovereign citizens in

May 2010.


Spontaneous sovereign citizen violence, especially during traffic stops and visits to residences, poses a significant risk to

law enforcement officers and public officials.


In Ohio, a sovereign named Michael Hill pulled a gun on an officer during a traffic

stop. Hill was killed.


New Hampshire extremist Carl Drega shot dead two officers and two civilians,

and wounded another three officers before being killed himself.


In Idaho, when brothers Doug and Craig Broderick were pulled over for failing to

signal, they killed one officer and wounded another before being killed themselves in a violent gun battle.

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …Tactics…Tactics

In December 2003, members of the Bixby family, who lived outside of Abbeville,

S.C., killed two law enforcement officers in a dispute over a small sliver of land

next to their home.

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …Tactics…Tactics

March 11, 2011 Fairbanks, Alaska

Five people, including militia activist Schaeffer Cox, were arrested

Thursday in the Fairbanks area for allegedly conspiring to kill multiple Alaska State Troopers and a federal

judge.


The group had stockpiled weapons and conducted surveillance on the

homes of two troopers, according to Alaska State Troopers. Some of the weapons known to be in the cache

are prohibited by state or federal law, according to troopers.


The most infamous attack occurred in West Memphis where 2 officers were

killed by a father and son team of sovereign citizens during a traffic stop in

May 2010.


Image from officers vehicle surveillance camera:


Suspects…..later killed:

Jerry Kane and his 16-

year-old son Joe

Sovereign CitizenSovereign Citizen …Police Response …Police Response

Law enforcement professionals are more likely to encounter dangerous

extremists than virtually any other segment of American society — and those confrontations are, tragically,

sometimes fatal.


Any response to the Sovereign Citizen movement must begin with an

understanding of the movement's origins within a group who feel they

have been disenfranchised.


While understanding Sovereign Citizen legal theory may be difficult to ask of anyone, an effective response also

requires awareness of their arguments, logic, and tactics.


It is crucial to be able to identify Sovereign Citizen activities in order to

sanction abusive Sovereign Citizen litigants, prevent the use of destructive tactics, and thwart for-profit Sovereign

Citizen theorists.


Unfortunately for law enforcement, self-described "sovereign citizens" don't

come with a warning label.


The ideology of the sovereign citizen movement has spread to the point

where adherents hail from any race and are found throughout the nation.


And they do not all necessarily carry fake license plates or bear other obvious

markers.


Still, there are common traits that law enforcement officers can and should

be on the alert for.


• License plates with oddball names Like the "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "Little Shell Pembina Band," which is a fake Indian tribe that runs a redemption scam.


• Antigovernment bumper stickers.


• Unusual use of outdated language.

A simple question like, "Where are you headed?" may get you a response along the lines of, "I am a free man, traveling upon the land."


• An arrogant or belligerent attitude. Sovereigns believe that they have secret knowledge about a complex government conspiracy that most Americans, including law enforcement officials, are too stupid to comprehend.


• Anti-Federal Reserve or banking comments

Even though all you are discussing is a driver's license, registration tags or traffic infractions. Anger towards other government agencies such as FEMA, the EPA, the U.S. Post Office and the Census Bureau is common.


• Unsolicited anti-Semitic comments

Either outright or veiled.


• Odd punctuation of names

Typically involving colons and hyphens.


• The absence of a zip code

In suspects addresses (sometimes, the zip code is present, but placed in brackets).


Judges and law enforcement officers, officials, and members of the public must understand Sovereign Citizen arguments sufficiently to be able to engage them in a dialogue that will

enhance their ability to bring the encounter to a successful conclusion.


Resources:

Southern Poverty Law Center

http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do/hate-and-extremism/law-enforcement


And Remember….Stay Safe Out There

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