Republic of Texas (group)
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Legal status of Texas and Texas Secession Movement. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2011. |
The Republic of Texas is a militia group[1][2] that claims that the annexation of Texas by the United States was illegal and that Texas remains an independent nation under occupation. The issue of the Legal status of Texas led the group to claim to reinstate a provisional government on December 13, 1995. Activists within the movement claim over 40,000 active supporters; however, there is no widespread popular support for an independent Texas.[3]
The movement for independence was started by the research of Richard Lance (Rick) McLaren. McLaren found that, in 1861, Texans voted four-to-one to leave the Union. According to McLaren's work, Texas met the qualifications, under international law, of a captive nation of war, since the end of the American Civil War in 1865. McLaren engaged in a protracted series of court and actual battles.[citation needed]
The movement split into three factions in 1996, one led by McLaren, one by David Johnson and Jesse Enloe, and the third by Archie Lowe and Daniel Miller. In 1997, McLaren and his followers kidnapped Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe, held them hostage at the Fort Davis Resort, and demanded the release of a movement member in exchange for the Rowes.[4] McLaren's wife, Evelyn, convinced him to surrender peacefully after a week-long standoff with police and Texas Rangers. The McLarens and four other Republic of Texas members were sent to prison. This effectively destroyed the McLaren faction, and the Johnson-Enloe faction was discredited after two of its members, Jack Abbot Grebe Jr. and Johnie Wise, were convicted in 1998 of threatening to assassinate several government officials, including President Bill Clinton.
In 2003, what remained of the movement consolidated into one dominant group recognizing an "interim" government (which replaced the "provisional" government), headed by President Daniel Miller. This interim government claimed authority from the original proclamations of 1995 and set up a seat of government in the town of Overton. The movement split again over legal arguments, resulting in the current state of affairs. Most of the original personalities of the movement have disappeared from public view. Government finances have come from donations and the sale of some items such as a Republic of Texas Passport. The Republic of Texas headquarters in Overton, Texas burned down on August 31, 2005; one person was moderately injured.[5]
In January 2004, a man in jail in Aspen, Colorado claimed that the state of Colorado had no jurisdiction to extradite him to California on a probation warrant, on the grounds that he was a citizen of the Republic of Texas. He claimed that the sliver of land which contains Aspen was a part of the original Republic of Texas and, as such, he was not a citizen of the United States. His claim was rejected by the courts.[6]
[edit] See also
- Alaskan Independence Party
- Christian Patriot
- Hawaiian sovereignty movement
- Second Vermont Republic
- Texas Secession Debate
[edit] References
- ^ Hoffman, Bruce (2006). Inside terrorism. Columbia University Press. pp. 105. ISBN 978-0-231-12699-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=RSzyEx4do48C.
- ^ Edwards, Thomas (31 Oct 1997). "Secessionists change legal strategy - 2 militia members decide to stop own defense, rehire appointed attorneys". San Antonio Express-News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFE8011B8C3263&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM.
- ^ "In Texas, 31% Say State Has Right to Secede From U.S., But 75% Opt To Stay". Rasmussen Reports. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/states_general/texas/in_texas_31_say_state_has_right_to_secede_from_u_s_but_75_opt_to_stay. Retrieved 2009-04-17.[dead link]
- ^ "Texas Separatists Call For Help". Chicago Tribune. April 29, 1997. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-04-29/news/9704290127_1_margaret-ann-rowe-republic-members-standoff-ends. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
- ^ Headquarters fire Associated Press, November 1, 2005, Retrieved 2011-07-20
- ^ Sheperd, (January 21, 2004). Weird News. The Anchorage Press, Vol. 13, Ed. 2
[edit] External links
- Daughters of the Republic Library
- 1010 International Texas Amateur Radio
- Slate: The Republic of Texas Article published in 1997.
- Still true today: 'The Republic of Texas is no more' - an article by Ralph H. Brock published in the Houston Chronicle in 1997
[edit] Texas independence movement websites
[edit] Terrorism Knowledge Base profile of Republic of Texas
- Republic of Texas (ROT) (archived from the original on 2007-09-30)
