Sovereign Citizens: Exploiting Legal Loopholes And Evading Consequences

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose group of anti-government activists, tax protesters, financial scammers, and conspiracy theorists. Sovereign citizens have their own pseudo-legal belief system based on misinterpretations of common law and claim not to be subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them. They believe that courts have no jurisdiction over people and that certain procedures and loopholes can make one immune to government laws and regulations. They also regard most forms of taxation as illegitimate and reject social security numbers, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration. Sovereign citizens are known for their abstruse pseudo-legal arguments and other unusual behaviors, such as inserting gratuitous punctuation marks in their names or flouting motor vehicle regulations while proclaiming they are “travelers,” not “drivers.”

The sovereign citizen movement first appeared in the US in the early 1970s and has since expanded to other countries. The movement can be traced to American far-right groups such as the Posse Comitatus and the constitutionalist wing of the militia movement. Sovereign citizens are known for committing acts of paper terrorism, the practice of filing frivolous, pseudo-legal claims, often involving large sums of money, and are often aimed at government officials. They pose a unique and significant threat to law enforcement during traffic stops because of their reluctance to follow basic traffic and motor vehicle laws. Sovereign citizens have been labeled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a terrorist threat.

Sovereign citizens believe they are above the law and not subject to government authority

Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that they are above the law and not subject to government authority. They claim that the government is an illegitimate entity, and that they are therefore not bound by its laws and regulations. This belief is based on the idea that the government is a corporation with which citizens have a contractual relationship, and that citizens can opt out of this contract and become "sovereign".

Sovereign citizens have their own pseudo-legal belief system, which is based on misinterpretations of common law. They believe that courts have no jurisdiction over people, and that certain procedures and loopholes can make them immune to government laws and regulations. They also regard most forms of taxation as illegitimate and reject social security numbers, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration.

The sovereign citizen movement has no centralized leadership, but there are common themes in their ideology. Sovereign citizens believe that the government was legitimate at the time of the Founding Fathers, but that it was later secretly replaced by a commercial legal system, usually thought to be admiralty law. They believe that this change was orchestrated by "international bankers", often implicitly or explicitly said to be Jews. They also believe that the gold fringes on flags in courtrooms are evidence of admiralty law, and that judges and lawyers are agents of a foreign power, usually thought to be the United Kingdom.

Sovereign citizens believe that they can opt out of the purported contract with the government, and that they can therefore become immune to the laws they do not wish to follow. They attempt to do this by declining to "consent" to the authority of police officers or other officials, and by avoiding the use of Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, car registration, and other things they believe indicate consent. They also use unconventional, sometimes incomprehensible legalese, and unconventional punctuation and capitalisation in their names and on legal documents, as they believe this has a legal effect.

The sovereign citizen movement has its origins in far-right, racist, and antisemitic groups in the US during the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Posse Comitatus and the constitutionalist wing of the militia movement. The concept of a "sovereign citizen" was first introduced by Posse Comitatus member and Christian Identity minister William Potter Gale in 1971. The movement was originally associated with white supremacism and antisemitism, but it has since attracted people of various ethnicities, including a significant number of African Americans, who sometimes belong to self-declared Moorish sects.

The majority of sovereign citizens are not violent, but the methods the movement advocates are illegal. Because some have engaged in armed confrontations with law enforcement, the FBI classifies "sovereign citizen extremists" as domestic terrorists.

They have their own pseudo-legal belief system based on misinterpretations of common law

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose group of anti-government activists, vexatious litigants, tax protesters, financial scammers, and conspiracy theorists. Sovereign citizens have their own pseudo-legal belief system based on misinterpretations of common law and claim not to be subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them.

Sovereign citizens believe that courts have no jurisdiction over people and that certain procedures can make one immune to government laws and regulations. They also regard most forms of taxation as illegitimate and reject Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration.

The movement's followers believe that the original government set up by the US founders, which most adherents refer to as "common law", was slowly and secretly replaced by an illegitimate government sometime in the 1800s. They believe there is a legal way to opt out of the current legal system by filing documents and ending what they view as "contracts" with the government, such as driving licenses and other identity documents.

Sovereign citizens often print out and carry documents that they claim prove their status. They believe that once they have regained their sovereignty, none of the laws, rules, taxes, court orders, or anything of the illegitimate de facto government has any power or justification over them.

They believe courts have no jurisdiction over people and that certain procedures can make one immune to government laws

Sovereign citizens are a group of anti-government extremists who believe that the government is an illegitimate product of a conspiracy that subverted the original, lawful government. They claim that they can take steps to divorce themselves from the government, after which it has no authority or jurisdiction over them.

Sovereign citizens believe that courts have no jurisdiction over people and that certain procedures can make one immune to government laws and regulations. They believe that they can opt-out of the purported contract with the government, making themselves immune from the laws they do not wish to follow. When confronted by police officers or other officials, sovereign citizens typically attempt to negate their authority by saying, "I do not consent".

Sovereign citizens believe that, at some point in history, commercial law secretly replaced common law. They claim that the current, illegitimate law is based on principles of international commerce, also known as admiralty law. They also believe that the gold fringes on U.S. flags displayed in courtrooms are evidence that admiralty law is in effect, and that U.S. judges and lawyers are agents of a foreign power.

Sovereign citizens believe that the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a codification of the illegitimate commercial law ruling the United States. They think that by exploiting supposed loopholes in the UCC, they can assert their rights or invoke special privileges and powers as "common law citizens".

Adherents of the American State National concept believe that through a specific procedure, they can renounce federal citizenship, make themselves immune from jurisdiction and arrest, avoid the IRS, and rescind voting registrations, marriages, or birth certificates.

Sovereign citizens also believe that the use of certain phrases or loopholes can make them immune to government laws. For example, they may argue that "speeding is not a crime; a crime requires an 'injured party". They also believe that by writing specific phrases on bills they do not want to pay, they can avoid paying taxes.

They are anti-government extremists who claim to be separate or sovereign from the US

Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that the US government is illegitimate and that they are separate from it. They claim that people can take steps to divorce themselves from the government, after which it has no authority or jurisdiction over them. Sovereign citizens have their own pseudo-legal belief system based on misinterpretations of common law and claim not to be subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them. They believe that courts have no jurisdiction over people and that certain procedures and loopholes can make them immune to government laws and regulations.

Sovereign citizens believe that the US federal government is illegitimate and that it was subverted by a conspiracy. They claim that the conspiracy offered privileges such as Social Security and driver's licenses, which were contracts designed to ensnare people into the commercial jurisdiction of the government. They believe that the Fourteenth Amendment created a new category of citizenship, "citizens of the United States", and that anyone could become one by accepting a proffered "contract". Sovereign citizens believe that they can opt out of this contract and that they are "free people" who are not subject to any local laws.

Sovereign citizens often insert gratuitous punctuation marks in their names, refuse to recognise their vehicles as vehicles, and instead refer to them as "conveyances". They also reject the need for driver's licenses, claiming that they are "travellers" and not "drivers". They believe that the 14th Amendment caused Americans to become federal citizens instead of sovereign ones. They also believe that the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is the effective law of the land.

Sovereign citizens engage in a lot of criminal activity, including harassment and retaliation tactics known as "paper terrorism", scams and frauds, and violence. They have been known to put liens on the properties of their perceived enemies, file frivolous lawsuits, and use various other intimidation and harassment tactics.

They are known for committing acts of paper terrorism and filing frivolous, pseudo-legal claims

Sovereign citizens are known for their acts of paper terrorism and filing of pseudo-legal claims, which often take the form of frivolous lawsuits and bogus legal documents. These acts are intended to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against individuals and institutions that sovereign citizens believe have wronged them, particularly government officials and law enforcement officers.

Paper terrorism tactics employed by sovereign citizens include the filing of bogus IRS forms, frivolous lawsuits, and bogus liens, which are used to harass and intimidate victims. For example, sovereign citizens have been known to file fraudulent IRS forms claiming that their victims owe them large sums of money, or to file bogus liens on the properties of their perceived enemies. These liens, which are typically placed by a business on the property of someone who owes them money, are instead filed by sovereign citizens against individuals who do not owe them money but have angered them in some way. This can cause significant problems for the victims, as these liens remain in the system until they are removed, often requiring costly and time-consuming legal proceedings.

Sovereign citizens also engage in other forms of paper terrorism, such as creating fictitious entities that mimic legitimate government or law enforcement agencies. These fake agencies often have bogus identification cards, badges, and even vehicles with official-looking decals. Sovereign citizens use these credentials to intimidate people and get out of traffic stops or other legal proceedings.

The pseudo-legal arguments and documents used by sovereign citizens may appear legitimate to laypeople, but judges, attorneys, and other legal professionals typically recognise them as meaningless nonsense. However, despite the frivolous nature of these claims, they can still cause significant harm to the victims, clogging up the court system and resulting in financial and legal difficulties.

In addition to paper terrorism, sovereign citizens also engage in other criminal activities, including scams and frauds, and acts of violence. Their rejection of legal documentation and belief that they are above the law often leads to frequent interactions with law enforcement, and they are known to become argumentative, combative, and non-cooperative during traffic stops and other routine encounters.

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