{"id":8425,"date":"2024-09-03T10:44:32","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T17:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=8425"},"modified":"2024-09-03T10:44:32","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T17:44:32","slug":"domestic-terrorism-army-being-molded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/03\/domestic-terrorism-army-being-molded\/","title":{"rendered":"Domestic Terrorism Army Being Molded"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Recently, I&#8217;ve come across some traffic stop videos of Sovereign Citizens, and there are a lot of them. They&#8217;re basically anti-government who refuse to pay taxes, register and insure their vehicles, be properly licensed, thinking themselves outside of the law. The article below goes through the many wrinkles of the sovereign citizen movement. Consequently, the people falling for all this are useful idiots as I&#8217;m leaning towards this being a psyop perpetrated through social media. Suffices to say, I didn&#8217;t think that governments could come up with any meaningful domestic terrorism movement, but they&#8217;re already grooming a domestic terrorism army to be used as needed, and that should give us all pause as it could be used for all manor of privacy invasion and restrictions on society. Throw in a false flag event, and society might go along willingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll post a couple examples, but there are many more though I&#8217;ll start with a comical one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sovereign Citizen Learns a Hard Lesson When He Messes With The WRONG Florida PD\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BT6xQNgFvW4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But here is an example of how this can turn deadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sovereign Citizens Ambush Police (Fixed Version)\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b_WR_izPLPk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A sovereign citizen in front of a judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Judge Simpson Demands Lying Sov Cit Show In Person\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AJgxK_u-pp4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/1059984\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/1059984\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub_divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_de7017a6-7643-4dc3-88d5-6eaed8bc3b56\"><div class=\"ub_divider_wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; margin-bottom: 2px; width: 100%; height: 2px; \" data-divider-alignment=\"center\"><div class=\"ub_divider_line\" style=\"border-top: 2px solid #ccc; margin-top: 2px; \"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sovereign Citizen Movement Explained<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>By Simon Barnes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/intro-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" alt=\"Van with taped message\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thierry Monasse\/Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life is complicated enough without having to constantly abide by the law, remember to renew the car registration every year, and pay taxes. What if there was a simpler way, where ID is never needed, taxes can be ignored, and driving is a right \u2014 with no restrictions or requirements needed? There&#8217;s a group of people, conspiracy theorists who hail from all over the globe, who think they have the answer: sovereign citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-53654318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a>, sovereign citizens assert that they are independent and immune from any government of the land they reside in, choosing only to follow a loose definition of common law. Armed with a garbled form of pseudo-law, they cause cognitive dissonance in courtrooms, drive merrily without insurance, scoff at the government, and refuse to sign their name with capital letters. And even more alluring is the promise of a big chunk of change, held in trust under their name by the U.S. Treasury.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a> estimates that as many as 300,000 people in the U.S. alone identify in some manner as sovereign citizens, encompassing a broad range of backgrounds. They often clash with the law, and some have carried out atrocious acts. Here is an explanation of the sovereign citizen movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It is rooted in conspiracies over the 14th amendment and the U.S. gold standard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/it-is-rooted-in-conspiracies-over-the-14th-amendment-and-the-u-s-gold-standard-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"437\" alt=\"Gold bullion on dollar note\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yee Hui Lau\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 1970s (per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-53654318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a>), a group of white supremacists banded together under the name of Posse Comitatus, led by William Potter Gale, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>. For the most part, they were a particularly abhorrent alliance of racist, antisemitic, and anti-government vigilantes who acted by their own &#8220;common&#8221; laws. Yet, as their ideology spread, so did its foundation. In the U.S., there are two conspiracy theories, often interchangeable, that are commonly found at the center of the sovereign citizen movement&#8217;s beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, as detailed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sog.unc.edu\/sites\/www.sog.unc.edu\/files\/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNC School of Government<\/a>, is the idea that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution created two tiers of citizens: sovereign and federal. The latter are said to have been bound to the government by contract, thus negating their access to the benefits and protections of the U.S. Constitution. But by severing any connection with the government, such as driver&#8217;s licenses or taxes \u2014 which are considered contracts \u2014 it is claimed that the sovereign class of citizen can be reclaimed, with all its constitutional freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other predominant conspiracy theory is a little more complex, but no less bizarre. Supposedly, in the 1930s, the U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/782294\/the-real-reason-the-us-abandoned-the-gold-standard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">severed the dollar from the gold standard<\/a>, which left the U.S. dollar without anything to back it. So instead, the U.S. government put its own citizenry up as collateral, with each person being assigned a U.S. Treasury trust fund under their government-assigned legal name. Each person, therefore, with their assigned &#8220;fortune,&#8221; is an asset upon which the U.S. dollar is pinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It is fiercely anti-government<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/it-is-fiercely-anti-government-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" alt=\"Man playing guitar\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thierry Monasse\/Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sovereign citizen movement in the U.S. began in part as an anti-governmental group, called Posse Comitatus, that believed all law is common law and stems from no higher than the county sheriffs, per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>. They believe they are separate from the government, hence the name &#8220;sovereign citizen,&#8221; regardless of the nation they reside in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As far as sovereign citizens are concerned, the government has no power over them or their property. They believe they are exempt from tax, do not need to possess any form of I.D., can claim property seemingly at will, and can resolve disputes without the oversight of the legal system. If they find themselves brought before the courts, sovereign citizens often simply dispute or flat-out deny whether it has jurisdiction over them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This may sound like anarchy, but sovereign citizen groups have made efforts to establish law enforcement and even courts outside the official legal system. The National Liberty Alliance, for example, has been attempting to create common law courts since 2011, as reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center. On one occasion, in 2017, self-proclaimed &#8220;Continental Marshals for the Republic&#8221; tried unsuccessfully to break one of their members out of a New Mexico jail, posing as legitimate law enforcement officers \u2014 replete with fake uniforms and identification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">They think they are above the law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/they-think-they-are-above-the-law-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" alt=\"Book of maritime law\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yuriy K\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sovereign citizens in the U.S. believe they are subject only to common law, as established by (or precedent to) the Founding Fathers. In fact, the common law they adhere to is a mix of old English common law and biblical doctrine, with a sprinkle of pseudo-law, as described by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, they assert that courts either lack jurisdiction or are operating under Admiralty law, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sog.unc.edu\/sites\/www.sog.unc.edu\/files\/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNC School of Government<\/a>. This particular belief stems from a conspiracy theory whereby the original constitutional law was secretly spirited away and replaced with maritime law. The proof for this is supposed to be in plain sight in any courtroom, in the form of a gold-fringed U.S. flag, as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2013\/09\/the-stupid-pro-se-legal-theory-making-the-rounds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Above the Law<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moorish citizens, a group with similar beliefs, instead assert that they are citizens of a fictional nation. As a result, they have their own passports, driving licenses, and sometimes even dress codes. If they come into contact with the law, they claim \u2014 unsuccessfully \u2014 they have diplomatic immunity, via a treaty dating back to 1787.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The movement is global<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/the-movement-is-global-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" alt=\"Globe on open book\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Triff\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the sovereign citizen movement has its roots in the U.S., it has since spread to other countries. Per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-53654318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a>, followers of sovereign citizen ideology can be found in Australia, the U.K., Canada, and Ireland. Individuals professing sovereign identity have even been reported in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the U.K., for example, they may be identified as &#8220;Freeman on the Land&#8221; and are known for tax dodging. One local government council in the U.K., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gloucester.gov.uk\/council-tax\/your-council-tax\/what-is-council-tax\/freeman-on-the-land\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gloucester City Council<\/a>, details the fruitless efforts by these &#8220;Freemen&#8221; to avoid paying council tax \u2014 the equivalent of property tax in the U.S. \u2014 by using the argument that they get to choose what laws they follow, not the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other side of the globe, Australian police reported (via the BBC) an uptick in sovereign citizen activity in 2020, with officers having to resort to drastic measures to get sovereign citizens to produce identification during traffic stops. And in Canada, one Ottawa man called Walter Derksen, who has expressed sovereign citizen ideas on social media, claimed in court that &#8220;he was the Crown,&#8221; and that he was represented by no less than God, as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/ottawa\/sovereign-citizen-movement-spread-court-freedom-convoy-1.6569509\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">They believe they can drive without a license<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sovereign citizens believe that a driver&#8217;s license is effectively a form of contract with the government, per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-53654318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a>, and an illegitimate government at that. Since they think that severing such contracts can exclude them from the legal system, a license is something to be avoided. The same applies to road tax, license plates, and insurance, with some sporting vehicles with license plates that just say &#8220;Private&#8221; or some other contrivance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may come as little surprise, then, that sovereign citizens often find themselves pulled over in police traffic stops and explaining their lack of proof of their legal ability to drive on a public highway. As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a> describes, their go-to argument is that they are not, in fact, driving: They are traveling. So when is driving not driving, but simply traveling? According to sovereign citizens, the term &#8220;driving&#8221; only applies if they are engaged in commerce \u2014 otherwise, they are traveling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking such an approach may often end with the driver relenting and producing a genuine license or getting a ticket, and in some instances, the driver being physically removed from their car (as reported by the BBC). But it can turn much uglier: In 2010, two sovereign citizens \u2014 Jerry Kane and his son Joseph Kane \u2014 were stopped by Arkansas police in a routine traffic stop. As reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/may\/15\/sovereign-citizens-rightwing-terrorism-hate-us-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Guardian<\/a>, it ended in a bloody shootout, with two officers dead, as well as both the Kanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Everyone has a secret fortune held by the government<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/everyone-has-a-secret-fortune-held-by-the-government-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" alt=\"Photo of safety deposit boxes\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elena Butinova\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As described by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>, sovereign citizen doctrine includes the promise of a big pot of gold that all U.S. citizens can access, held by the government in a secret account. The theory rests on the idea that after actual gold was dropped as the backer for the U.S. dollar, the government chose another form of collateral for its currency: people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to sovereign citizen groups, from birth, each U.S. citizen is assigned a secret Treasury account, containing anywhere from several hundred thousand dollars to millions of dollars. This supposed corporate trust account is placed under an administrative version of the person&#8217;s identity \u2014 a &#8220;strawman&#8221; \u2014 that binds the individual to the government and their corporate treasure trove, as detailed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sog.unc.edu\/sites\/www.sog.unc.edu\/files\/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNC School of Government<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this fictional nest egg is unobtainable to the average person \u2014 unless they completely divest themselves from the government. This requires the potential treasure seeker to avoid all official legal ties \u2014 legitimate ones \u2014 such as driver&#8217;s licenses. If they have to agree to anything, great pain is taken to sign their names in a manner that does not associate them with their &#8220;corporate&#8221; identity. By doing so, it is believed that they will be in a position to access the secret account, by filing complex pseudo-legal documents with the same courts that they despise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your legal name is a fictional identity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It turns out, sovereign citizens claim, that we have two identities: our physical, flesh-and-bone self, and our false, government-created corporate self, as detailed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sog.unc.edu\/sites\/www.sog.unc.edu\/files\/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNC School of Government<\/a>. The latter is sometimes referred to as a &#8220;federal citizen,&#8221; whereas the former is the identity we should strive to protect: the &#8220;sovereign citizen.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One important consequence of the dual identity that sovereign citizens believe in is that the federal citizen is a &#8220;strawman,&#8221; to which the government pins all its pesky laws and obligations. If you can separate yourself from this corporate identity, as the theory goes, you can also do away with any legal obligations, such as paying taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A citizen&#8217;s fake government identity is believed to be identified by their name being spelled in all capital letters. So, to divest themselves of their corporate identity, sovereign citizens may insist on spelling their name with no capital letters, or use red ink. As described by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>, some even sign their names with thumbprints, or written out in such a way as to identify themselves as an agent for their corporate identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sovereign citizens are known to tie up the courts with legal mumbo-jumbo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/sovereign-citizens-are-known-to-tie-up-the-courts-with-legal-mumbo-jumbo-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" alt=\"Angry judge banging gavel\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Denis&#8212;S\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sovereign citizens refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of their government&#8217;s legal system, and often directly challenge the jurisdiction of any court they may find themselves in. Whether it is deliberate vexatious litigation \u2014 termed &#8220;paper terrorism&#8221; \u2014 or a misguided legal defense, sovereign citizens have curated a variety of bizarre legal terminology to confound the legal system, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, the approach taken by sovereign citizens, when dealing with the courts, is filing vast amounts of pages of garbled pseudo-law, which the courts \u2014 to some extent \u2014 are obliged to respond to. And it sometimes works: In one instance, a sovereign citizen from Arkansas managed to drag out a simple court case, over a dog license, for more than two months. The lady, called Donna Lee Wray, effectively buried the prosecutor under a mountain of legal gibberish until they threw in the towel, allowing Wray to walk away without having to pay the license fee \u2014 saving $20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The courts do try to fight back against this behavior, in some cases by handing down hefty fines for the misuse of the legal system. In Calgary, Canada, a millionaire heiress called&nbsp;Sandra-Ann Anderson was, in August 2022, given a $40,000 fine for excessive and malicious use of pseudo-law, as reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/calgaryherald.com\/news\/local-news\/judge-fines-pseudolaw-court-abuser-40000-but-doubts-shell-pay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Calgary Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It has become more diverse in recent times<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While its origins are tied with white supremacism, the ideologies of the sovereign citizen movement span racial and political boundaries. As the ideas and motivations behind sovereign identity evolved over time, its membership has grown to include a younger and more diverse demographic, summed up by one former senior law enforcement officer, Bob Paudert, who told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/may\/15\/sovereign-citizens-rightwing-terrorism-hate-us-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Guardian<\/a>: &#8220;Their only agenda is they are anti-government.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>North Carolina, in particular, is host to the Moorish Nation and the Washitaw Nation. With institutions such as the Moorish Science Temple as their nexus, young Black Americans are increasingly being recruited into these sovereign citizen groups, per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sog.unc.edu\/sites\/www.sog.unc.edu\/files\/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNC School of Government<\/a>. In addition, conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones, who aggressively decry government control to a broad online audience, are promoting an extreme anti-governmental way of life to a younger and more heterogeneous crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The perceived benefits of embracing a sovereign citizen lifestyle are promoted as being applicable to all, and the approach can also be tinkered with. For example, the North-Carolina American Republic, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, has effectively declared itself as the true legitimate government of North Carolina, thus invalidating the jurisdiction of the existing state&#8217;s government. Proclaimed citizens of these &#8220;nations&#8221; will often carry their own unique \u2014 and legally invalid \u2014 identification, and claim diplomatic immunity if charged with a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It can turn violent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-53654318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a>, the denial of governmental authority by sovereign citizens usually manifests itself by refusing to abide by tax, property, and transportation laws. However, it can sometimes lead to more direct and violent action against a perceived tyrannical government, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/886990\/chilling-details-from-the-oklahoma-city-bombing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oklahoma City bombing<\/a> in 1995, which was partly masterminded by Terry Nichols \u2014 a self-professed sovereign citizen \u2014 and left 168 innocent people dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More recently, Darrell Brooks, who killed six people with an SUV at a parade in Wisconsin in 2021, has claimed to be a sovereign citizen in court, as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs58.com\/news\/what-is-a-sovereign-citizen-and-how-is-darrell-brooks-using-that-argument-in-his-trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBS 58<\/a>. However, while Nichols was motivated to carry out his heinous act by his sovereign ideology, the behavior of Brooks in court appears to be more of an attempt to avoid justice by denying its authority over him.&nbsp;As attorney Julius Kim told CBS 58 in an interview, &#8220;That&#8217;s why you hear Mr. Brooks ask questions asking if [Judge Dorow] has ever taken an oath, he&#8217;s trying to test her legitimacy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Uniform Commercial Code and Black&#8217;s Law Dictionary are canon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sovereign citizens in the U.S. believe that a secret fund is held, in trust, under their name by the government, as described by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sog.unc.edu\/sites\/www.sog.unc.edu\/files\/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNC School of Government<\/a>. This trust account is supposed to be large \u2014 very large, as much as several million dollars, according to some sovereign citizen groups. Such a large financial incentive has generated a substantial amount of legal activity by sovereign citizens to get their hands on this illusory fortune. And a lot of it centers around the somewhat unlikely UCC, or Uniform Commercial Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UCC is simply a standardized commercial transaction framework established in the 1950s, to ease the process of securing collateral for loans. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/info.publicintelligence.net\/FBI-SovereignCitizens.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FBI training literature<\/a>, this system is abused by sovereign citizens, who file fraudulent \u2014 although technically legitimate \u2014 UCC filings for numerous illegal purposes, including the attempt to wrest control of their fantasy corporate trust account. The UCC is also used by sovereign citizens to fraudulently claim property that does not belong to them, and to prevent the collection of debts they may owe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another favorite go-to for sovereign citizens is &#8220;Black&#8217;s Law Dictionary,&#8221; as mentioned by the UNC School of Government, which has no actual legal weight and is simply what it says it is &#8230; a dictionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">They often represent themselves in court &#8212; badly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/img\/gallery\/the-sovereign-citizen-movement-explained\/they-often-represent-themselves-in-court-badly-1666121386.jpg\" width=\"780\" height=\"437\" alt=\"Angry man shaking fist\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UfaBizPhoto\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sovereign citizens often believe lawyers to be as illegitimate as the courts and judges, as detailed by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pennstatelawreview.org\/the-forum\/sovereign-citizens-the-uses-and-abuses-of-the-judicial-sy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Penn State Law Review<\/a>. While their involvement in vexatious and fraudulent litigation is common, sometimes they find themselves before the justice system for more conventional reasons, ranging from traffic tickets to serious felonies. And when they do, they typically prefer to represent themselves in court, though, armed only with pseudo-law and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grunge.com\/238066\/the-real-reason-people-believe-in-these-strange-conspiracy-theories\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conspiracy theories<\/a>, this doesn&#8217;t usually end well for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As described by <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/no-thats-not-the-law-the-danger-of-using-pseudolegal-arguments-against-covid-19-rules-170630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Conversation<\/a>, misusing legal jargon is a hallmark of a sovereign citizen defense in court. One legal term sometimes thrown into the mix is &#8220;corpus delicti,&#8221; such as by one individual captured on videoed court proceedings (via the attorney-hosted YouTube channel <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Jjly8zplatc?list=PLvpewVS8zsgikjR1-D1vxFDGW6eEIs3vs&amp;t=187\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Law Talk With Mike<\/a>), who runs into a wall of actual, concrete legal knowledge \u2014 in the shape of a judge. Facing the real, physical possibility of being jailed for contempt, the defendant soon backs down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/ideology\/sovereign-citizens-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>, U.S. sovereign citizens believe all individuals possess two distinct identities \u2014 one real, and the other a fake government construct. This can also lead to some bizarre legal strategies by sovereign citizens, who attempt to identify themselves as someone \u2014 or something \u2014 else other than themselves. An example in one bond hearing, captured on video (via <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/6nLOJCSaxSw?list=PLvpewVS8zsgikjR1-D1vxFDGW6eEIs3vs&amp;t=216\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Law Talk With Mike<\/a>), ends with the judge not only humoring the defendant&#8217;s argument, but even incorporating it into his ruling: revocation of bond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, I&#8217;ve come across some traffic stop videos of Sovereign Citizens, and there are a lot of them. They&#8217;re basically anti-government who refuse to pay taxes, register and insure their vehicles, be properly licensed, thinking themselves outside of the law. The article below goes through the many wrinkles of the sovereign citizen movement. Consequently, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8426,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8425\/revisions\/8426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}