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.”

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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.

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"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