Sovereign citizen movement
The sovereign citizen movement is a loose network of American litigants who claim to be "sovereign citizens".
Overview of Ideology
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History
This "sovereign citizen" concept originated in the Posse Comitatus movement as a teaching of Christian Identity minister William P. Gale. The concept has influenced the tax protester movement, the Christian Patriot movement, and the Redemption movement[1]—the last of which includes claims that the U.S. government has enslaved its citizens by using them as collateral against foreign debt. Supporters sell instructions explaining how to "free" oneself by filing particular government forms in a particular order using particular wording.
Gale identified the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as the act that converted sovereign citizens into federal citizens by agreeing to a contract to accept benefits from the federal government. Other commentators have identified other acts, including the Uniform Commercial Code,[2] the Emergency Banking Act,[2] the Zone Improvement Plan,[3] and the supposed suppression of the Titles of Nobility Amendment.[4]
Association with Racism
While some African American groups have adopted sovereign citizen beliefs,[5] the movement is dominated by adherents of Christian Identity. Some within the movement see African Americans, who only gained legal citizenship with the passage of the 14th Amendment after the Civil War, as "14th Amendment citizens" with fewer rights than whites.[6]
Key figures
According to The Christian Science Monitor, a key figure is Sam Kennedy, host of the "Take No Prisoners” program on Republic Broadcasting Network in Round Rock, Texas. In a mass e-mail early in 2010, Mr. Kennedy vowed to use his show to present a "final remedy to the enslavement at the hands of corporations posing as legitimate government." He pointed to a plan to "end economic warfare and political terror by March 31, 2010.” In two months, he said, “we can and WILL, BE FREE with your assistance."[7]
Groups
Guardians of the Free Republics
In March of 2010 a group calling itself the Guardians of the Free Republics issued letters to at least 30 US state governors, without threatening violence, stating that "if they did not leave office within 3 days they will be removed". The FBI identified them as a Sovereign Citizen group.[8]
References
- ^ Carey, Kevin (July 2008). "Too Weird for The Wire". The Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
- ^ a b Hall, Kermit (2002). The Oxford Companion to American Law.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Fleishman, David (Spring 2004). "Paper Terrorism: The Impact of the 'Sovereign Citizen' on Local Government". The Public Law Journal. 27 (2).
- ^ Smith, William C. (November 1996). "The Law According to Barefoot Bob". ABA Journal.
- ^ Are sovereign citizens racist?, Message to Students, Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website.
- ^ "What is a 'Sovereign Citizen'?", Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report, Winter 2008.
- ^ Guardians of the free Republics: Could threats spark violence, Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, April 2, 2010
- ^ "FBI Investigating Extremist Group Letters Telling Governors To Leave Office", Huffington Post
External links
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