Sovereign Citizen Judge Bruce Doucette Receives 38 Year Prison Sentence for Paper Terrorism Activity | Westword

One of the most notable figures in America proselytizing and exercising “sovereign” ideology, Bruce Doucette, was sentenced to 38 years in Colorado state prison on Tuesday, May 22.

Doucette, who owned a computer-repair shop in Littleton, had declared himself a judge despite not being recognized by any U.S. judicial system, and was one of the leading actors in an extra-legal organization calling itself the “people's grand jury of Colorado.” On March 9, a jury in Denver had found Doucette guilty of 34 felony charges stemming from actions that Doucette described as an attempt to root out corruption in American government at its various levels: federal, state and local.
Sovereign Citizen Judge Bruce Doucette Receives 38 Year Prison Sentence for Paper Terrorism Activity | Westword

See also:: Sovereign Movement Is Anti-Government, Off the Grid....and Gunning for Justice

Judge rejects religious argument | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.com

A Grand Junction man is facing up to 30 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of multiple fraud-related charges Thursday evening.

Rocky Hutson was convicted of multiple fraud-related counts after a June 2016 indictment stemming from an FBI-headed investigation, which also resulted in several other arrests.
,,,

FBI investigators have described Hutson as a sovereign citizen. Members of the loosely organized movement generally don't recognize federal or state government authority.

Hutson's conviction on all counts followed a midtrial ruling by U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger that he could not use as a shield the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Carbondale-based defense attorney Ashley Petrey said in an interview Friday her client's beliefs are sincere, if "odd and unpopular."

"He truly believes these theories about the United States government, and he does treat it like his religion," Petrey said. "It's very intertwined with God and who created man. … He should be entitled to practice those beliefs."

Krieger ruled that Hutson's beliefs about the corruption of the U.S. government — while sincere — weren't religious.

U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Jeff Dorschner wrote in an email Friday that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is an important tool for protecting religious beliefs.

"Here, having anti-government beliefs, according to the court, is not a protected religious belief," he wrote.

Judge rejects religious argument | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.com

Sovereign Citizen “Doctor” Accused of Performing Abortions, Circumcisions and Treating Cancer | Southern Poverty Law Center

Although I am not surprised, this case is becoming more bizarre by the minute. Not sure if there are any more charges that can be added

Before becoming an antigovernment “sovereign citizen,” Rick Van Thiel worked as a porn star, male escort and sex toy inventor in Las Vegas.

Now Van Thiel is in jail there, accused of practicing medicine without a license and claiming to have performed dozens of abortions, circumcisions, castrations, root canals, even cancer treatments.

Meanwhile, the FBI, the Southern Nevada Health District and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are attempting to locate more than 100 former “patients” of the sovereign citizen-physician who calls himself “Dr. Rick.”
,,,
Newman pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge and received probation after agreeing to talk with investigators about receiving cancer treatment from Van Thiel. That now seems to suggest Van Thiel has been on investigators’ radar for at least two years, apparently while they worked to build a strong criminal case against him.
,,,
The ongoing investigation of David “Rick” Van Thiel and his associates rekindled on Aug. 7 when the City of Las Vegas business licensing officials received a complaint about an unlicensed medical practice in a residential neighborhood located near the intersection of Owens Avenue and Nellis Boulevard.

FBI agents, armed with a federal search warrant, raided the property on Sept. 30 and shut down the illegal medical practice that day, the Las Vegas Journal-Review reported.

According to a report by the Las Vegas Journal-Review on October 7, "authorities are trying to determine whether Van Thiel is connected to the so-called sovereign citizens movement." Which was hinted at above:

Van Thiel used typical sovereign citizen rhetoric in a 2012 suit against a Las Vegas police detective who arrested him on suspicion of soliciting prostitution on the Strip.

"Natural born people are sovereign," he wrote in the suit. "The very meaning of sovereignty is that the decree of sovereign makes law... A sovereign's rights are not derived from a government. His rights are natural and unalienable."

In a police report on his prostitution arrest, the detective said he was a five-time felon convicted of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm in Nevada.

Van Thiel said an officer solicited sex from him, which he offered for free, but he spoke to the Review-Journal about two convictions that previously led to his incarceration. After his release from prison, he "expatriated" and sent out letters to have his Social Security number canceled, he said.

Las Vegas Justice Court records show the solicitation charges were dropped, as was Van Thiel's lawsuit.
In media interviews, Van Thiel said Wednesday he knew two suspected sovereign citizens charged with conspiring to kidnap at random a Las Vegas police officer in 2013.

We also have this development added on,

A judge set bail at $1 million Wednesday for an alleged phony doctor after prosecutors said they were considering a murder charge against him.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman said she considered Rick Van Thiel, 52, a danger to the community after listening to prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo describe the allegations.

Van Thiel had 87 so-called "patients" he kept records on, the prosecutor said, and one of them was a young man who died of AIDS.

DiGiacomo said he intended to seek a second-degree murder charge for Van Thiel's "reckless disregard."

The prosecutor is also pursuing sexual assault charges against Van Thiel. In September, a woman who had an abortion had gone to Van Thiel and he performed sexual acts on her, DiGiacomo said.

In a jail interview last week, Van Thiel said he treated people for cancer and HIV, among other serious diseases.

Sovereign Citizen “Doctor” Accused of Performing Abortions, Circumcisions and Treating Cancer | Southern Poverty Law Center

See High-ranking Scientologist arrested in Las Vegas plot to kill police officer for more on Devon Campbell Newman.

UPDATED::Alaska court erupts in laughter as right-wing extremist asks to be deported to heaven

UPDATE::  More on Ramey and his unual views,,,

Ramey, a former member of the Togiak City Council, leads a foundation called Sui Juris Court Angels, a sovereign citizen organization. Because of his diehard views on sovereign citizenry, Ramey believes the state lacks the authority to charge him with a class C felony for failing to pay child support.

Hence that heaven stuff. He went on to say he feels this case is a “far broader issue than not paying child support” and that he is willing to go to jail for his beliefs about the state.

“I’ve been fighting for 20 years to make sure the state doesn’t do to my boys what they did to me,” he said. “That’s the best support I can give them. [The state] has taken from me everything I own.”

Man Asks to Be Deported to Heaven

_____
An Alaska “sovereign citizen” drew laughs during a court appearance on felony child support charges.

Kevin Francis Ramey, who goes by the name “Birdman” in a series of YouTube videos and other online postings, was indicted on criminal nonsupport charges, reported KDLG-AM.

The 57-year-old Ramey, who claims he is not required to follow U.S. or state laws as a so-called sovereign citizen, was arrested after he failed to show up last week for his arraignment on felony charges.
,,,

The presiding judge asked Ramey if he understood his rights, and the radio station reported that courtroom observers laughed at his convoluted response.

“It says if you’re not a U.S. citizen you could be deported,” Ramey said. “I know I have three citizenships: No. 1, in heaven, No. 2, in America, No. 3, in California — and that my primary citizenship, is of course, in heaven. So I was kind of wondering, are you guys going to deport me to heaven?”

Judge Patricia Douglas, of Dillingham Superior Court, did not undertake any deportation proceedings and instead set bond at $1,000.

Alaska court erupts in laughter as right-wing extremist asks to be deported to heaven

Sovereign citizens now consist of all colors and creeds | The Kansas City Star

While today’s movement remains largely white and still has some followers with racist leanings, a surge in the number of nonwhite sovereign citizens is underway across the country. And the biggest growth, experts say, is within an African-American branch called Moorish sovereigns, which is disseminating its ideas to a whole new batch of recruits.

“It’s a new world,” said J.J. MacNab, an author who for two decades has been tracking anti-government extremists. “And Missouri is like ground zero.”

The common denominator between sovereign citizens and more left-wing black separatists, MacNab said, is the sense of being powerless and having no voice.

“You have a group of right-wing people who feel voiceless,” said MacNab, who also is a fellow at George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security. “You look at the angst in Ferguson and you hear a lot of the same things. They would not recognize it in each other, but they have a lot of the same complaints, which is that the world is changing and we don’t get a say in it.”
,,,
“They are much more reflective of the demographics of society today,” he said. “You have white people, you have African-Americans, you have Asians, you have Native Americans. The sovereign citizen movement has really become a melting pot.”

And Moorish nationals are increasingly occupying a bigger portion of the pot, experts say.
,,,

Although most of their criminal activity has involved mortgage and property fraud, the proliferation is a concern, Harris said.

“Right now, they’re more into the social upheaval movement rather than attacks on law enforcement,” he said. “But with their loose affiliation with the New Black Panther Party, who have called for the killing of police officers, that could change.”


Sovereign citizens now consist of all colors and creeds | The Kansas City Star

Jury finds Utah man failed to pay taxes, conspired with Lehigh County doctor - Philadelphia Business Journal

A 75-year-old Utah man was convicted Wednesday on federal charges he conspired with a Lehigh Valley doctor in a scheme to defraud the Department of Health and Human Service and the Internal Revenue Service of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Robert G. Wray of Torrey, Utah, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, 30 counts of wire fraud, one count of bankruptcy fraud, and one count of failure to appear.

As part of his defense, Wray argued he was not properly identified in legal documents, however, he used many different names for himself in an attempt to evade federal and other laws, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Wray also claimed to be a “sovereign” citizen, who is not subject to federal laws, including those regarding personal income taxation.

The Utah man conspired with Dr. Dennis Erik Fluck Von Kiel, of Macungie, Pa, to help the doctor evade a six-figure debt he owed to HHS for unpaid medical school loans and avoid paying personal income taxes to the IRS, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Jury finds Utah man failed to pay taxes, conspired with Lehigh County doctor - Philadelphia Business Journal

Short sentences ‘sovereign citizens’ | The Andalusia Star-News

Two men with sovereign citizen movement ties were sentenced to 10 years on each of the eight counts charged against them for offering a false instrument for recording against a public servant during a sentencing hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Travis Lee Lambert of Andalusia and William Peter Witwicki of Enterprise were sentenced to serve concurrent sentences for filing a fraudulent suit against Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton, Circuit Judge Thomas Head, Circuit Clerk Mickey Counts and Circuit Judge Shannon Clark.

A Covington County jury found Lambert and Witwicki guilty in March after a two-day trial proved that both contributed in the suit, which was intended to sue the public officials for $89.2 million in silver coins. The defendants represented themselves in the trial.

Short sentences ‘sovereign citizens’ | The Andalusia Star-News

Sovereign Citizen Lady Is Citizen … OF OUR HEARTS! | Wonkette

If you remember, last August I posted this:  What one needs to keep in mind with regard to the movement is that there is no "central" organizing body; there is no "group." ,,,[T]hat with any "group" there is a broad continuum of beliefs from "hard-core sovereign believers to those just starting out by testing sovereign techniques for resisting everything from speeding tickets to drug charges." 

 

Clark, is a perfect example of how that continuum works:

Meet Tamah Jada Clark, a “Floridian-American” sovereign citizen who brought a whole new meaning to “swearing before the court” when she recently filed an obscenity-filled court document titled “Notice: To F*ck This Court and Everything that it Stands For” after a judge dismissed a lawsuit that she’d filed. Clark had claimed that her civil rights were violated five years ago when she was arrested in a failed attempt to break her boyfriend out of prison.

 

Clark’s April 20 rant is a masterpiece of Sovereign Citizen logic, explaining to U.S. District Court Judge Willis B. Hunt that she didn’t believe for one minute he even has the power to dismiss her case,,,

Sovereign Citizen Lady Is Citizen … OF OUR HEARTS! | Wonkette

Police fatally shoot ‘sovereign citizen’ after he refuses to show ID when turning over stray animal

Have you ever read an article that just makes you say WTF? Well this is one for me.

I follow the Sovereign Citizen Movement quite closely. I find their ideology a bit off balance, their tactics ("paper terrorism") annoying, and the actions of some very dangerous. But to be killed for attempting to turn in a stray animal?

So what if he was a sovereign citizen. So what if he had a prior history of arrests. So what if he didn't have ID. All he was doing was turning in a stray and for that he was executed without trial.

Investigators said 30-year-old Robert Earl Lawrence became disorderly as he attempted to turn over a stray animal about 12:30 p.m. to the Dothan City Animal Shelter when an employee told him he could not leave without showing identification.

He instead showed paperwork that identified him as a sovereign citizen and, therefore, not bound by federal, state, or local laws.

Employees called police, who attempted to arrest Lawrence after they said he refused to calm down.

Police said Lawrence struggled with the arresting officer, who then shot him in the abdomen.

Lawrence died about 9:50 p.m., authorities said.

Police fatally shoot ‘sovereign citizen’ after he refuses to show ID when turning over stray animal

'Sovereign citizen,' wearing full body armor and armed with a knife, arrested in Gonzales | NOLA.com

A man who associates with the "sovereign citizen" movement and opened the door to police officers while wearing full body armor, a face shield and a knife strapped across his chest was arrested Tuesday in Gonzales, the Gonzales Police Department said Friday.

Police went to an apartment on the 400 block of Pine Street in Gonzales to arrest Brandon Gibbs, because he was suspected of making threatening phone calls to Gonzales City Hall.

[,,,]
When the police officers knocked on Gibbs' door, he opened it a few inches and "demanded to see the officers' hands," police said. The officers backed away, and Gibbs eventually stepped out of the doorway. He was wearing full body armor, a Kevlar helmet with a plastic face shield, camouflage pants and a shirt, and held a can of pepper spray in his hand.

Gibbs refused to drop the pepper spray, and began walking toward one of the officers with it. Another officer was able to spray Gibbs under his face shield with departmental-issued pepper spray.

'Sovereign citizen,' wearing full body armor and armed with a knife, arrested in Gonzales | NOLA.com

The Religious Right’s 10-Point Playbook For Hijacking Nations

Wayne Besen's (of Truth Wins Out) response to Mary Zeiss Stange Op-ed - Beware the Christian extremists:

I’ve come up with 10-Point Playbook that these homegrown Christian extremists use when they attempt to accomplish their frightening goals. As I go through this list, you will recognize some of the insidious techniques that have, sadly, been woven into our political process: [Brackets mine, all stuff I have posted about]

1) Find inflammatory wedge issues and scapegoats to divide people and force them to choose sides  [Marriage equality]

2) Persuade people to join your righteous “team” in its effort to purify society. Demand absolute loyalty and obedience to that team’s leaders (even above allegiance to the state) [American Family Association, Family Research Council]

3) Identify and cultivate key major donors to fund mission. To reward their support, back conservative economic policies [Koch Brothers, Greens (Hobby Lobby), Waltons (Walmart), John Schnatter (Papa Johns)]

4) Create parallel infrastructure and institutions (i.e. private education, conferences, think tanks, and charities)  [John Birch Society, Heritage Foundation, The Gathering]

5) Build an insular media cocoon to disseminate propaganda. This vast echo chamber is contemptuous of contradictory facts, suspicious of reason, and impervious to mainstream media scrutiny  [Fox News,BarbWire, Glenn Beck,WorldNetDaily]

6) Infiltrate society’s major institutions in a clandestine effort to undermine, influence, and ultimately control (See 7 Mountains Movement: government, education, family, religion, entertainment, business, and media)  [Texas State Board of Education]

7) Facilitate the decline of secular government by deliberately and persistently creating crises in confidence and eroding trust in venerable institutions  {GOP/TP, Gov't shutdown over Debt Ceiling, IRS and Benghazi]

8) Oppose all gun control laws and tacitly encourage local militias, so in the event of insurrection fundamentalists are the most well armed sector of society  [NRA, Gun Owners of America]

9) Constantly agitate and manufacture havoc, because theocracy can only be attained amid chaos. Without a functioning central government, the shadow infrastructure created by fundamentalists makes them the best situated to fill a vacuum, restore order at the price of liberty, and install their regime  [Racism,, see #7]

10) Export model abroad: Send influential emissaries and dedicated missionaries; deploy basic services to create dependence; and dispense money to acquire strategic local alliances; while organizing key international gatherings and fostering opposition at The United Nations…we’ve seen the manifestation of these efforts most notably in Uganda and Russia – with both nation’s veering far to the right, restricting freedom, and passing draconian anti-gay laws  [Uganda, Russie]

The Religious Right’s 10-Point Playbook For Hijacking Nations

Imprisoned creationist faces new charges

As y'all know I follow the "Dr" Dino saga (aka Kent Hovind) via two primary individuals.  One of which sends me information almost daily.  But every now and again I find things on my own. 

This is WingNutsDaily's take on the matter.  Notice that they "rely" on  Peter J. Reilly commentary further down in the piece,

Ironically I have been accused of being a Hovind supporter myself.  I've decided to call those critics the militantly rational.  I agree with them on the probable  age of the earth and the reality of evolution and things like that, but I just don't get as upset at the likes of Kent Hovind who has never met a conspiracy theory that he didn't like.  It is understandable that someone who thinks Kent is a whackadoodle might be pleased that his whackadoodle tax theories have put him in prison and the longer the better, but that is not my view.  Very few tax crimes are prosecuted and I think further prosecution of Hovind is a bad idea.  The current case against him seems a little weak, so he might get acquitted which would appear to be a vindication.  On the other hand if he is convicted he appears to be a martyr.  Neither outcome is good for promoting tax compliance.

It is a bit awkward as Peter is now the  "love him/ hate him" guy in the middle.

[For those interested a retrospect on Peter's coverage of the Hovind case up to August of 2014.]

As for the "facts" of the case as presented they appear to be accurate by my personal understanding.  A better person than I may be able to better comment on that aspect.

Only months away from being released to a halfway house after nearly eight years in prison, the popular creation-science lecturer and theme-park creator known as Dr. Dino is facing new charges in his tax-related case.

A federal court Monday in Pensacola, Florida, scheduled a trial to begin Dec. 1 for Kent Hovind, founder of Creation Science Evangelism and Dinosaur Adventure Land, on mail-fraud charges in connection with court filings on land seized by the federal government in his case.

As WND reported, Hovind was sentenced to 10 years in prison in January 2007 after he was convicted of 12 tax offenses, one count of obstructing federal agents and 45 counts of structuring cash transactions.

Hovind contends the original charges were based largely on the Internal Revenue Service’s misinterpretation of his tax obligations as a minister of the gospel who had taken a vow of poverty and, therefore, owed no income tax. He and his wife, Jo Hovind, who spent one year in federal prison, paid employees in cash without filing payroll tax returns, designating them as “missionaries.” Although Kent Hovind, an avid blogger, has made statements challenging the authority of the federal government to collect income taxes, he has insisted he has never been “anti-tax or a tax protester,” has advocated obeying the government and “always paid every tax I owe.”


The new indictment also names his current chief legal adviser, John Paul Hansen of Omaha, Nebraska, as a defendant. Hansen has declared himself a “free inhabitant” or “sovereign citizen” who does not recognize U.S. sovereignty. He pays no income or property tax and drives a car without owning a driver’s license.

Imprisoned creationist faces new charges

We Are The Future Generations: Ernie Land Challenges Common Law Theorists And Others To Make Kent Hovind A Test Case

Ernie Land is a name that pops up in regards to tax protestation and the Sovereign Movement; and not just because of his ties to Kent Hovind.  I was tickled pink when this article came to my attention.

Also for more background info concerning Hovind's tax case, check out the links at the very end of Peter's posting.  As much as this case fascinates me and the obvious connection to the Sovereign Movement, I haven't been able to give it the "coverage" it deserves.

If you spend some time on the internet you will find that there are many theories as to why the common belief that most people in this country who work and earn beyond an insubstantial amount of income are required to file income tax returns are mistaken.  Irwin Schiff has a fairly elaborate explanation that shows how most of us are deceived into filing tax returns that are not really required.  Like Kent Hovind, Irwin Schiff is in federal prison.

Here is where Ernie and I differ,  Ernie believes that at least some of those people are right, that there are ways in which our government is fundamentally invalid.  He urges compliance merely as a practical matter.  I have yet to find an argument of the Schiff variety at all persuasive and it is not for lack of understanding or study.

Kent Hovind has been talking to a lot of people lately and has been making the argument that the crime of structuring that he was convicted of (systematically dealing in amounts of cash less than $10,000 to avoid reporting requirements) were really motivated to silence him in his quest to show that evolution is bad science.  My inference is that the reason Kent got in so much trouble on the structuring was related to the other counts of his indictment that involved paying the employees at a Dinosaur theme park in cash and referring to them as "missionaries" rather than withholding taxes and filing the appropriate forms.  Ernie agrees that it was a bad idea for Kent to do that, but still believes that the federals government's prosecution of Kent has a religious basis.

We Are The Future Generations: Ernie Land Challenges Common Law Theorists And Others To Make Kent Hovind A Test Case

UPDATE::Sovereign Citizens Convicted of 'Paper Terrorism'

An update to this story,,,

Two members of the anti-government, “sovereign citizen” movement have been convicted by a Santa Barbara jury of trying to file a false lien against the home of a North County judge.

Tom Murphy and Jeff Lind were found guilty of multiple felonies, including one count of perjury, and face a maximum of three years and eight months in prison. Without prior records, they are eligible for probation. Murphy, a Missouri resident, has an outstanding warrant in Arizona for impersonating a judge and was ordered into custody out of worry he would not return to Santa Barbara for his sentencing on December 11.

[,,,]
During this month’s trial, which lasted a week-and-a-half, Murphy and Lind’s attorneys argued that the men truly believed they had a valid claim over the judge’s property and so couldn’t be convicted of deceptively submitting a false lien. Prosecutor Brian Cota countered that the pair are bureaucratic bullies who use the filings to harass and intimidate those who they feel have wronged them. The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before returning with their guilty verdicts.

Cota said a second case is pending against Murphy and Lind on similar allegations. According to Cota, the two tried to have their original case dismissed by claiming to the Santa Barbara Superior Court’s administrative office that a Native American court — a judicial body of tribal leaders that they fabricated — had taken jurisdiction of the matter and dismissed the accusations. Cota said that case is still in its early stages of prosecution.

This is not the first time the Native American slant has been played before. William McRea, whom I have posted about before used the same tactic.

But JoAnne Hawkins, the Powhatan Renape representative on the New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs, is not impressed with the man who claims to be the tribe's new leader.

"He isn't legitimate," Hawkins said. "He has nothing to do with Powhatan Renape Nation."

Doreen Adele "Autumn Wind" Scott, the commission's chairwoman and a member of North Jersey's Ramapough Lenape Nation, said she had heard about the Crown Prince and would look into his claims.

But other Powhatan members and people posting on Native-American website forums have questioned why the council hasn't taken action against the Crown Prince.

"Our tribal leadership lacks a spiritual foundation, so we're unable to thrive as an organized Nation and it appears non-members are taking advantage of our time of weakness," Wendy Logan, a Powhatan formerly from South Jersey, said in an email from Arizona.

Sovereign Citizens Convicted of 'Paper Terrorism'

ADDENDUM::Sovereign Citizens Are America’s Top Cop-Killers - The Daily Beast

“He knew 30 days in advance he was going to kill the next time he had a traffic stop. He knew that, we didn’t We didn’t even know what sovereigns were. We were at a total disadvantage.”

___

Though the specifics of Holley’s anti-government beliefs and previous threats have not been reported, some bloggers have suggested that Holley identified with the burgeoning sovereign citizen movement who, in addition to their other beliefs, completely reject the authority of law enforcement.

Despite or, perhaps, because of its loose organization, the sovereign citizen movement has become a major concern for local, state, and federal law enforcement. On the most basic level, sovereign citizens don’t believe in taxes, government, or the authority of any official above a county sheriff. They are known for perpetuating so-called “paper terrorism,” filing hundreds of pages of nonsensical paperwork to local courts in an effort to avoid something as simple as a parking ticket, or submitting fake property liens or tax forms designed to destroy an enemy’s credit or get them audited.

Sovereign citizens are not explicitly violent, but over the past few years the number of lone wolf attacks on law enforcement by followers of the movement, have prompted the FBI to consider sovereign citizens a major domestic terrorism threat. This summer, the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism released the results of a study finding sovereign citizens are perceived to be the single greatest threat to law enforcement, above Islamist extremists and patriot or militia groups.

Sovereign Citizens Are America’s Top Cop-Killers - The Daily Beast

Man Who Ambushed Cops Had Anti-Government Beliefs - ABC News

A man who set his house on fire and ambushed responding police officers held "anti-government, anti-establishment" views and had previously threatened law enforcement, authorities said Sunday.

The gunman was identified as 53-year-old Curtis Wade Holley. Authorities said he fatally shot Leon County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Smith, 47, on Saturday and wounded another deputy before he was killed in a gun battle outside his home.

At a news conference Sunday, sheriff's Lt. James McQuaig wouldn't detail the nature of the previous threats or Holley's anti-government beliefs. Holley had lived at the end of a cul-de-sac in a middle class neighborhood for about a year, McQuaig said.

[,,,]
"Our responders yesterday were targeted for no other reason than they chose to spend their lives helping people," said Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo. "There is no doubt that the actions of our deputies and officers prevented additional loss of life."

McQuaig said that it appeared the fire had been burning for a while before authorities arrived because they didn't receive the 911 call until flames were visible from the outside. The house was completely destroyed.

Holley's name and address had been entered into a law enforcement computer system because of his previous threats, but the 911 dispatcher who took the fire call put in the address of a neighbor who reported the blaze, so the alert wasn't activated and the Leon County deputy who responded first had no warning, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Man Who Ambushed Cops Had Anti-Government Beliefs - ABC News

MC man leads police on 2-hour foot chase Constable assaulted during pursuit, suffers inuries - News - News Item

Police said a borough man led them on a two-hour foot chase Thursday afternoon in an attempt to elude a warrant for his arrest on six charges stemming from an unregistered vehicle.

A constable suffered minor injuries in the effort to capture Cody Christopher Strunk, 30, of 340 E. Third St.

Strunk was wanted after Chief Todd Owens filed misdemeanor charges of counterfeit documents, theft of moveable property, receiving stolen property and theft from a motor vehicle, and summary charges of unauthorized transfer or use of registration and fradulent use or removal of registration plates on Oct. 20.

In the criminal complaint, Owens said a registration plate was stolen from a vehicle belonging to William Ahrensfield and was found on Strunk's silver Jeep Liberty on Oct. 17.

When questioned, Strunk said a friend had given it to him, and he did not know the friend's name. Strunk said he didn't believe a vehicle should require a registration plate.

He attempted to engage Owens in a discussion on the Constitution and claimed to be a sovereign citizen, the chief said. Owens told him he must still obey by local and state laws, including the motor vehicle code.

MC man leads police on 2-hour foot chase Constable assaulted during pursuit, suffers inuries - News - News Item

Sovereign Citizens on Trial for 'Paper Terrorism'

Democracy may not be on trial, but Tom Murphy and Jeff Lind are. The two have ties to the anti-government “sovereign citizen” movement and are accused of conspiring to file a false lien against the Solvang home of a Santa Barbara County judge in a lengthy and bizarre series of legal challenges and political protests that dates back to 2010. They each face felony counts and maximum sentences of three years and eight months in prison, and their trial is scheduled to start this week.

The saga began when Lind, a marketing executive who lives in Orcutt and works in nearby San Luis Obispo, allegedly threatened a police officer who had arrested his son for driving under the influence. Lind was charged with witness intimidation and ordered to appear before Judge Kay Kuns. Claiming to not recognize the court’s authority over him, Lind — with help from Murphy, a dogged sovereign citizen crusader living in Los Osos at the time — loosed an avalanche of filings and paperwork claiming $77 million in damages against Kuns for violating his rights.

[,,,]
Cota also noted that the names of dozens of people with bare involvement in the case — from Sheriff Bill Brown to county administrative staffers — appear in filings and online postings created by the pair. Some of the documents are labeled with assault weapon models, and many contain veiled threats, Cota said. On Monday, Murphy and/or Lind distributed fake arrest warrants for Cota, DA Joyce Dudley, Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, and others. The warrants were issued by Murphy’s fabricated organization, the National Standards Enforcement Agency out of Missouri that purports to convene its own Grand Jury.

What struck me from this article, "The warrants were issued by Murphy’s fabricated organization, the National Standards Enforcement Agency out of Missouri that purports to convene its own Grand Jury." Which reminded me of this article and a 2 1/2-hour conversation that ensued.

While the former article mentions National Standards Enforcement Agency. The latter talks about The National Liberty Alliance a group that has "drawn from more mainstream Republican and Tea Party activists than typical sovereign citizen organizations."

Regardless of which group is "more" legitimate and which group is doing what, the ideology behind the Sovereign Movement is a thorn in law enforcements side and they are dangerous; from the courts down to the beat cop.

As my conversation partner so aptly put it,

People that have never studied law or actually read the Constitution suddenly become legal experts based on misinformation bandied about on the fringe sites, Many get so wrapped up in this distorted worldview that they lose all sense of perspective. Their critical thinking skills have been trumped by fear, paranoia and false ideologies. At some point, it crosses the line from foolish to dangerous,,, The dynamics of it all are complex, People are lazy, and seek to oversimplfy everything. Human nature seeks to assign catchall labels to anything complicated.

Sovereign Citizens on Trial for 'Paper Terrorism'

Domestic extremists suckered youngsters into gathering intel on police officers - The Week

Sovereign citizens groups are scary. For police officers, they're violent extremists. Now at least one group of sovereign citizens duped young people into collecting the addresses of police officers and other first responders in Austin, Texas.

An FBI alert from the bureau's San Antonio Division — obtained in August by the non-profit Web site Public Intelligence — details the creepy scheme.

Through late July of last year, small teams of "young individuals" combed through neighborhoods in Austin knocking on doors, according to the alert. When someone answered, the canvassers explained they worked for a fundraising group that helps students master public speaking.

As part of their training — the teams explained — they needed to learn about the professions of the people they spoke with.

The canvassers were then awarded points based on the job of the person they talked to. Different jobs were worth different points. The kids carried yellow note cards that referenced the 15 jobs worth points and their value. The list included professions such as nurse, doctor, and firefighter.

Police officers were worth 2,000 points, the highest value.

In exchange for points, the organizers promised cash prizes and scholarships. More cops and firefighters meant more money.

The alert also explained that the students, "carried a paper card stating the individuals who were in possession of the card were allowed to be doing what they were doing per constitutional law and they were not required to show any identification or be restricted from their duties by state or local officials."

The card carried no contact information for any organization. The canvassers showed the card to anyone asking questions.

In truth, there was no group geared towards improving the public speaking skills of young people. There were no scholarships or money. A sovereign citizens group — the FBI believes — conned the kids into doing their dirty work. This whole thing was just a clever way for domestic extremists to collect the addresses of first responders.

Domestic extremists suckered youngsters into gathering intel on police officers - The Week

‘Sovereign citizen’ claims deeply held Christian belief that tax laws don’t apply to him

Attorneys for an Oregon “sovereign citizen” couple hope to convince jurors their clients acted in “good faith” when they stopped paying taxes 20 years ago.

Ronald and Dorothea Joling owe $1.1 million in back taxes and associated interest in penalties after they stopped paying federal taxes in 1994, reported The Register-Guard.

Attorney Mark Weintraub argued that Ronald Joling has a deeply held belief that he is not required to pay federal taxes, which he claims was influenced by his conservative Christian views and teachings he’s picked up from the sovereign citizen movement.

Weintraub admitted to jurors that he finds those beliefs “totally wrong and unreasonable,” but he asked the jury to acquit him on tax evasion charges if they believe the 71-year-old did not willingly break the law.

The defense attorney said Joling’s “very conservative Christian” beliefs influenced his views on government and taxes, the newspaper reported.

Joling, an ordained minister and pastor of the Hope Covenant Reformed Church in Coquille, later concluded the constitutional amendment establishing federal income taxes was invalid.

That’s a common teaching among the anti-government sovereign citizens movement, and Weintraub said his client was advised by other adherents to declare himself and his wife were no longer U.S. citizens to avoid taxes and other legal requirements.

“They were wrong,” Weintraub said. “But they didn’t just make this up on their own.”

‘Sovereign citizen’ claims deeply held Christian belief that tax laws don’t apply to him