sovereigncitizens

sovereigncitizens https://www.dailykos.com/news/sovereigncitizens News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:13:47 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:13:47 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Alaska militiaman's sentence in plot to murder judge, officers reduced by 10 years https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/11/7/1897895/-Alaska-militiaman-s-sentence-in-plot-to-murder-judge-officers-reduced-by-10-years A onetime Alaska militia leader sentenced in 2012 to 26 years in prison for masterminding a plot to murder federal agents and local police officers saw <a href="https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/11/06/alaska-militia-leader-schaeffer-coxs-murder-conspiracy-sentence-cut-by-10-years/">his sentence reduced by 10 years</a> this week, thanks to an appellate court ruling. A federal judge in Washington state on Tuesday reduced Schaeffer Cox’s sentence to 16 years. While <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1872598.html">an appeals court in 2017</a> overturned his earlier conviction on a charge that he had solicited the murders of federal agents and police officers, it had upheld his conviction on conspiracy charges in the case, and ordered his resentencing. Cox, now 35, was <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2012/06/19/alaska-militiamen-convicted-antigovernment-murder-conspiracy#more-9305">convicted in 2012</a> of nine federal charges—seven of them illegal firearms counts—related to the conspiracy he and members of Peacemaker Militia led to kill a judge and law-enforcement officers. The jury acquitted him of other charges, including carrying a handgun while conspiring to purchase destructive devices and possession of a handgun while discussing the murder conspiracy. The militiamen <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/alaska-militia-leader%E2%80%99s-revolution-falls-flat" title="">in 2010 hatched a conspiracy</a> to kill two government officials for every one militia member who was killed—what they had called their “241,” or two-for-one, plan. On recordings made by federal informants, Cox had talked about killing judges in their homes at night and about outgunning state troopers. He also discussed hanging court employees to dangle like the “wind chimes of liberty.” Cox’s militia in fact was <a href="https://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/schaeffer-cox-and-his-alaska-militia" title="">a classic sovereign-citizens organization</a>, built around the belief that federal and state governments are illegitimate entities and that people can declare their independence from them by declaring themselves so through a blizzard of bizarre court filings and by wielding pseudo-legal gobbledygook at anyone who crosses their path. If that someone happens to be a law enforcement officer from an “illegitimate” government, they believe they have the right to kill them. rss@dailykos.com (David Neiwert) Alaska Militias Patriotmovement RightWingExtremism sovereigncitizens _1897895 Thu, 07 Nov 2019 23:00:13 +0000 FBI fears Police infiltrated by white supremacist "Ghost Skins" & sovereign citizen terrorists https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/2/1/1628572/-FBI-fears-Police-infiltrated-by-white-supremacist-Ghost-Skins-sovereign-citizen-terrorists Recently <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/the-fbi-has-quietly-investigated-white-supremacist-infiltration-of-law-enforcement/" target="_blank">the Intercept</a> has reported on the efforts by the FBI to investigate domestic terrorist organizations including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, sovereign citizens and right-wing terrorists infiltrating our local police forces. <blockquote> White Supremacist and other domestic extremists maintain an active presence in U.S. police departments and other law enforcement agencies. A striking reference to that conclusion, notable for its confidence and the policy prescriptions that accompany it, appears in a classified FBI Counterterrorism Policy Guide from April 2015, obtained by The Intercept. The guide, which details the process by which the FBI enters individuals on a terrorism watchlist, the Known or Suspected Terrorist File, notes that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers,” and explains in some detail how bureau policies have been crafted to take this infiltration into account. </blockquote> This infiltration includes covert supremacist operatives called “ghost skins” who the FBI guide states are encouraged and trained to “blend in” to regular society without displaying their real views while advancing the goals of supremacists and also that they have implemented a strategy of protecting these investigations from discovery by specific officers who actually been added to the terrorist watch list by hiding that information within the NCIC and other national crime databases from them. rss@dailykos.com (Frank Vyan Walton) AltNazi AltRight NeoNazi PoliceCorruption skinheads sovereigncitizens TerroristPolice WhiteSupremacists _1628572 Wed, 01 Feb 2017 19:17:33 +0000 There Really ARE Sovereign Citizens But... https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/3/1556571/-There-Really-ARE-Sovereign-Citizens-But Recently we’ve heard horror stories about law enforcement conflicts with people who call themselves “Sovereign Citizens”. This a bunch of people who align to a specific anti-government/anarchistic philosophy and not a formal movement. They deny state command authority over themselves and others. A recent example might be Korryn Gaines and her tragic death in a police shootout (though at the time this is being written there is more rumor that fact). While much has written of the history of this “movement” as well as important criticisms of the individuals involved and their conduct already something has been overlooked which is what I hope to address in this posting. The sad irony here is that the private U.S. citizens are, in fact, sovereign. This is a direct finding of the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in the landmark case Chisholm v. Georgia 1793 (2 U.S. 419, 2 Dallas 419) which found that the U.S. was a popular sovereignty in which the authority of the state which had been previously vested in the person of a monarch had been distributed equally and individually (not collectively either!) to the citizens of the United States as a result of the American Revolution and that the “ministers of government” (public officers, employees, and contractors working on the behalf of government) do not “partake in that sovereignty except as private citizens”, and that U.S. citizens are not subjects in any sense except by their consent. Further the Chief Justice, John Jay (our 1st Chief Justice) pointed out that the U.S. Constitution and the several state constitutions were compacts of the people of their respective jurisdictions. If we take his cue and look at the most readily available historic compact (which has often cited as the model for our Constitution), the Mayflower Compact we find this interesting clause after the describe the governments they were going to create: “to which we promise all due obedience and submission”. The people of that colony were subjugating themselves to the authority of the government they were creating (within a reasonable limit; hence the word “due”) but no similar language appears anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. Even if such were to appear in state constitutions it would be nullified by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2). When I first encountered this case 10 years ago I was presenting a draft argument in support of same-sex marriage under the Constitution to a group of professional and lay constitutional scholars (one of whom practiced before the U.S. Supreme Court and publicly defended me as “polite and well reasoned” — pats self on back :D ). I was looking for a previous federal case in order to cite it and Chisholm popped up in an internet search on a fringe political site. I looked at the site, shrugged, and looked at the language of this curious SCOTUS case to find where the site owner went south but I didn’t dwell on it other than reporting the case to the group and noting that the Court seemed to have made a finding in support of one of my paper’s several arguments. I saw the “sovereignty” argument made by the Court and fully expected that if I looked hard enough something that major would be used in a later case and rebutted by the Court. I looked and did not find this to be true. And other recent constitutional scholars have reached the same conclusion. The only reason suggested by anyone for this dearth of case law is that this particular finding is “unorthodox” — but it still stands. What does this all mean? A ton! It means that the various governments have no legal jurisdiction to bring civil or criminal claims against any U.S. citizen or their property on the state’s behalf or on the behalf of any other part (but a private citizen or jury can), that the courts have no power to issue summons, that issues of fact involving private U.S. citizens can only be determined by an impartial jury of our peers and not a judge or prosecutor, that U.S. citizens may not be treated criminal suspects or as threats to any person or community by the state (but, again, a jury or private citizen do not have this limitation), that the state is obligated to provide for any citizen’s food, shelter, or medical needs if they cannot provide such for themselves without such support, and that the definition of criminal or civil conduct is defined by existing principles of law that relate to equal co-sovereignties and not public statute when it comes to citizens. This is not an exhaustive list by any means and I have cause to believe that there is reason for people on both ends of the political spectrum to take interest. The full argument here is quite lengthy and I’ve been working hard to bring it to maturity and establish standing in court to present it but I’m providing this as an introduction to the public hoping for feedback and constructive criticism. I will be closely monitoring any comments and will hopefully address such in future postings. rss@dailykos.com (RRobertson) antigovernment antipolice CivilRights Ct Shootings sovereigncitizens _1556571 Thu, 04 Aug 2016 06:15:10 +0000 Beyoncé is a stochastic terrorist! Tennessee Sheriffs ain't wrong! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/17/1486836/-Tennesse-Sheriff-proves-beyond-all-shadow-of-doubt-that-Beyonc-is-a-stochastic-terrorist Another minor public official has decided to support the Bundystani Soverign Citizen wardlordism using county sheriffs as the dupes of anti-government libertarianism. And of course Beyoncé and CBS are stochastic terrorists. As much as one wants to get people to stop using a pseudo-concept that leads ultimately to eroding the First Amendment much like Citizens United and corporate speech (the MIC as a “lone wolf”). Every killing by one person upon one other person is in fact a “lone wolf killing”, just like every mass killing by one person could be a crime against humanity. Every LEO who violates their constitutional duty in an unlawful death of a civilian acted as a “lone wolf”. <blockquote> <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/tennessee-sheriff-blames-beyonc-s-super-bowl-halftime-show-shootings-n520181" target="_blank">A Tennessee sheriff suggested Tuesday that an alleged rise in violence against police officers is directly related</a> to Beyoncé's controversial <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/beyonce-delivers-politically-charged-super-bowl-halftime-performance">Super Bowl halftime performance</a> and new <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/beyonce-evokes-new-orleans-in-new-video-618221635632">music video</a>... On Monday, there were reports of eight shots fired outside the home of Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold. During a news conference about the incident Tuesday, Arnold floated the possibility that Beyoncé's politically charged performances of late may have instigated the shooter in a time when police shootings across the country are closely watched. "With everything that's happened since the Super Bowl, and with law enforcement as a whole. I think we've lost five to seven officers, five deputies, sheriffs since the Super Bowl," Arnold told reporters. "Here's another target on law enforcement." </blockquote> Could it be that LEOs just want Beyoncé in their jails with cuffs on. rss@dailykos.com (annieli) Apple Beyonce CivilRights Culture DomesticTerrorism Guns Law Media Militia Politics Snark sovereigncitizens StochasticTerrorism Tennessee Terrorism _1486836 Thu, 18 Feb 2016 01:01:52 +0000 Oregon standoff defendant Shawna Cox files eight pages of sovereign citizen psychobabble with court https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/17/1486742/-Oregon-standoff-defendant-Shawna-Cox-files-eight-pages-of-sovereign-citizen-psychobabble-with-court <h4> Attention attorneys and sane people everywhere: You really don’t want to miss <a href="http://www.seditionists.com/shawna1.pdf" target="_blank">this</a> one. Seriously, you don’t. </h4> _______________________________________ Today, Shawna Cox, one of 25 defendants charged with conspiracy in the 41-day takeover of Oregon’s Malheur Wildlife Refuge, filed an eight page Affirmative Defence [sic] and Counter Criminal Complaint. I suspect these eight pages may, indeed, end up winning some kind of award for the best conspiracy word salad in its category. Cox, a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2012/02/13/what-is-a-sovereign-citizen/#2de8545d2420" target="_blank">Sovereign Citizen</a>, opines at length about everything from the International Monetary Fund to the Bar Association. Seriously. Kick off your shoes, put your feet on your desk and just think about how lucky you are she isn’t your client. Or your neighbor. Here’s the opening paragraph, and warning, put the coffee down: <blockquote> AFFIRMATIVE DEFENCES AND COUNTER CRIMINAL COMPLAINT As identified in 18 USC sections 1512, 1513, and 1514 I am a victim, witness and informant to extremely serious public corruption and government oppression. I came to the assistance of economically vulnerable individuals who were being harassed, threatened, intimidated, persecuted and incarcerated by arrogant, narcissi Federal Government officials who have organized together to highjack and steal our Constitutional form of government from the people of the United States of America. I came to assist the people of the states that were derived from the Northwest Territories, to address the fraud involving lands that were defrauded from them, by organized efforts of individuals within Federal and State Governments. [sic, as in all over the place] </blockquote> As for you attorneys, shame on you for forcing your nobility upon us: <blockquote> I am a victim, witness and informant to <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Kings_Crown_different.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/141803/large/Kings_Crown_different.jpg?1453566610" title="Kings_Crown_different.jpg"> <figcaption>If you don’t have your crown, order now. They’re going fast.</figcaption> </figure> subversive activities and efforts organized by law Colleges, State and Federal Bar Associations, to attack our constitutional form of government and subversively, secretly force socialism, communism and imperialism types of government onto the people of the United States of America. The intention of these law professors and State and Federal Bar Association members is to create nobility for themselves, their prosperity and an oligarchy. Evidence will show that many of these individuals held official public positions and employment for generations and believe they are "entitledn to hold controlling public offices. Members of the State and Federal Bar Associations have violated the separations of powers so they could create special privileges and immunities for themselves, their membership and those who are supporting their subversive attacks on our constitutional form of government and our domestic tranquility. [sic] [bolding mine] ________________________________________ Evidence will also show that Oregon State Bar members including S. Amanda Marshall, Governor Kate Brown, Judge Grasity, Oregon State Senator Cliff Bentz, and others within the Oregon State Bar Association organized together to take complete control of the Oregon State Government so they could execute their personal objectives, agendas and the objectives and agendas of the predatory Oregon State Bar Association. [sic] </blockquote> ________________________________________ And least you public employees think you are off the hook, well hardly. Shawna’s got that covered, too: <blockquote> At the time we took Hostile Adverse Possession of Malheur it was being closed down for the winter. At no time did I or anyone else interfere with any public employees working on the Malheur in fact we encouraged them to come to work as we wanted to discuss the ownership problem with them and get as much information we could from them. If anything, it was their choice to not come to work, out of guilt. … [bolding mine] </blockquote> Among others, here’s a list she includes of all you naughty folks and reasons: <blockquote> Additional affirmative defenses I am reserving include: 1. Jurisdiction, or lack of 2. Venue or lack of 3. The court that is attempting to prosecute me is an Article 4 court and not an article 3 court. 4. I object to the court continuing to attempt to identify me as a subject of corporate United States of America, I ask the court to cease and desist this, and acknowledge I am a sovereign citizen with State and Federal constitutional rights and protections of law. 5. I am requesting a fact finding hearing to identify the status of the court and my status 13 with the court. 6. Restriction of Judicial Powers 7. Selective prosecution, unequal protections of the laws, Government > the people 8. Omission and misprision of felony by state and federal agents, officials and employees. 9. Subversive activities against our state and federal constitutional form of governments. 10. Malicious Prosecution 11. Unlawful detainment and seizure. 12. RICO Racketeering efforts organized against me, us, the Hammonds and others. 13. The constitutional right of militia to assemble against subversive attacks against the Constitution of the United States and the people of the United States. 14. My right to assemble was interfered with. 15. My Freedom of speech was interfered with. 16. Criminal Negligence 17. Organized attempted execution/murder of a witness and informant. 18. Organized execution / murder of my co-witness and co-informant. 19. Foreign Agents operating subversively within United States, including but not limited to 29 State and Federal Bar Associations, IMF agents and Blackstone mercenaries. [sic] </blockquote> And finally, here are the damages sought: <blockquote> CLAIM FOR DAMAGES I am asking for criminal and civil penalties for the perpetrators that subjected me and my witnesses to the crimes I have identified herein. I Claim I and the others involved in these actions have suffered damages from the works of the devil in excess of $666,666,666,666.66 Six hundred sixty six billion, six hundred sixty six million, six hundred sixty six thousand, six hundred sixty six dollars and sixty six cents. [bolding mine] </blockquote> Whatever you do, please don’t forget the sixty-six cents. Needless to say, the judge tossed the filing relative to the criminal case and instructed Shawna to work with her attorney, Tiffany Harris (click and enlarge): <div class="center-block dk-editor-embed" data-twitter-content='&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The Judge has already tossed the filing. I wonder if the home confinement decision will stand? &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sovereigncitizen?src=hash"&gt;#sovereigncitizen&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/W4xmRFmcsj"&gt;pic.twitter.com/W4xmRFmcsj&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/status/700073546676973568"&gt;February 17, 2016&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;'> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> The Judge has already tossed the filing. I wonder if the home confinement decision will stand? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sovereigncitizen?src=hash">#sovereigncitizen</a> <a href="https://t.co/W4xmRFmcsj">pic.twitter.com/W4xmRFmcsj</a>— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) <a href="https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/status/700073546676973568">February 17, 2016</a> </blockquote> </div> ____________________________________ On a serious note, the above may sound like the rantings of a mad woman, but this seems to be more or less typical method and verbiage from the Sovereign Citizen crowd. And least you believe them harmless, remember that the Millers who shot and killed two lunching policemen and an innocent Walmart Shopper after leaving Cliven Bundy’s 2014 armed standoff were sovereign citizens. Terri Nichols of the Oklahoma City bombing was a Sovereign Citizen. There’s a long list, and it’s growing. To whit, this group ranks #1 in concern among law enforcement and many are very dangerous: <div class="center-block dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=2F" data-height="315" data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2F_pY47hE5U" data-width="560">YouTube Video</a> </div> ________________________________________________ rss@dailykos.com (cany) Bundy Cox Oregon Refuge shawna SovereignCitizen sovereigncitizens _1486742 Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:10:37 +0000 A Sovereign Citizen for a son-in-law https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/11/1483692/-A-Sovereign-Citizen-for-a-son-in-law My daughter was getting over a bad breakup with a long-term girlfriend. I was happy when she said she had met someone new but surprised when she told me it was a guy, and that he was ‘kind of redneck’. Four years later, and that guy is engaged to my daughter. They will be married this spring. For this article, we’ll call him Jay. It has been an odd journey, probably more so for him than for me. Though maybe not. During that first dinner where daughter introduced Jay to the rest of the family, we tried to find some common ground, and it wasn’t hard. I was actively looking for inexpensive property with a little land to do some small farming. Jay was very interested, and we talked global warming and food security and discussed whether GMO’s would impact natural genetic diversity. Every now and then he said something I didn’t agree with, and I know he bit his tongue a couple times too, but he seemed nice. Daughter was pleased at how well all got along. Jay spent more and more time at our house. I found out he was semi-homeless. He couch-surfed at various friends houses. He was employed as a machinist and worked overtime when he could, but he had two children from an earlier relationship and half his check went to child support. He said that he had been told he could get the amount lowered through court, but he didn’t want his kids to have less, and he was very afraid of the legal system. It didn’t leave him with enough to get a place of his own. He also had some pre-adult run-ins with the law, he told me. He’d run away from home at 15, and when he went back his dad and step-mom refused to let him back in. He got arrested for trying to break into his parents’ home and lived out of a car until he met a woman when he was 17. They quickly had two kids. He is good at math and 3 dimensional thinking, and she encouraged him to take classes to become a machinist. They were together for 6 years. Both he and my daughter were on the rebound when they met. As Jay started to bond with the rest of the family, he started telling me that one day he would sue the government for money that was owed to him against his name, and that he would have enough money to help me buy the property I wanted. When I asked him what he meant, he told me that he had been on a train visiting his mother and step-father a few years ago, when a guy he was sitting next to gave him a pocket constitution, and told him that the US government had turned us all into corporations and used the human capital that each person represented to repay debts to China. That his birth certificate was actually a document of incorporation, and that each person was owed by the government for the value they represented. He said that the government had to surrender the land it owned to people who were willing to use it, like a perpetual homestead act, but that the government didn’t want anyone to claim their land because the government had borrowed against the mineral rights of public lands. He had a photocopied, self published book with all the information. It wasn’t a regular book ‘because the government wanted that information suppressed.’ Imagine being an 18 year old kid who has been in the system for a while, who is trying to support a girlfriend, a child and another on the way. Imagine being a guy that feels like he just can’t get the American Dream that apparently comes so easily to other people, and being told that you are secretly rich, and powerful, and that the reason you can’t get ahead isn’t because of your bad choices or being born into poverty, or any of that, but it is because of a vast conspiracy of the government. He ate it up. He researched online and found websites that told him that because he was white and male he had an inherent worth that was being denied to him by the government, and that he could access that if he could find the way to file the right paper work with the right words in the right time. He hoped for a time when he would be able to connect with some more knowledgeable sovereign citizens and claim his birthright. I listened, and I worried. My daughter gently challenged his belief. Since my family is mixed race I challenged him on the racism that surrounds the Sovereign Citizen belief system. Jay and Daughter told me they both seriously wanted to continue their relationship even though he is a right-wing sovereign citizen believer, and even though she identifies herself as a very liberal bisexual feminist. My daughter and Jay got engaged, and I purchased 2 acres of land in Northern Ohio. I invited them to live with me and help me get my small farm up and running. We are all passionate about growing food, raising animals ethically, and living a simple, country lifestyle. Jay is good at keeping the ancient second hand tractor running, though he keeps bringing home chickens that are too old to lay because he feels sorry for them, and he spoils and overfeeds the ducks. Jay is fortunate. He probably has above normal intelligence, and a willingness to see things from outside of his dogma. He started showing me things that he recognized as being crazy from some of the websites he was active on. I started showing him articles on the history of the constitution and lawmaking in the US. I wouldn’t say he is totally over his sovereign citizen ideology, but he is no longer a true believer. Maybe once he caught on that his inherent worth was because he is a good person, rather than on a conspiracy theory, he was able to let a lot of it go. On Facebook, he posts articles from Fox News, and I post rebuttals. Oddly enough, we both like Bernie Sanders, though I’ll vote for Hillary if she is nominated, and he says he will write in a third party candidate. We meet in the middle at our mutual (and probably dogmatic and overblown) outrage at Monsanto, Tyson, and the brutality of the factory food system, and we rail at the lack of progress our country makes with food legislation. We fight over who gets to read the Mother Earth News first. Our dinner discussions are weird, animated and sometimes heated, but the food is excellent. Out of respect for my daughter’s wishes, he now licenses his car, keeps his driver’s license up to date, pays taxes, and only owns a BB gun. He still pays 50% of his take home pay for child support, and his kids came and spent last summer with us. They made pickles and jam to take home to their mom. We’ve been watching the standoff with the militants at Malheur. I’m tempted to mock them. They made this mess and seem dismayed that they have to pay the price. I rant about their twisted thinking that they are fighting what they say is a tyrannical government, and then are surprised when that same government wants to charge them with crimes. Hey, if they think the government is a tyranny wouldn’t it be a given that anyone who opposed it would be dealt with swiftly and severely? And when they aren’t can’t they see how it disproves their supposition? I have very little sympathy for them. But Jay pities them. He tells me he knows just how they feel. How great it must have been to think they were going to be heroes. He says that being in a group like that is wonderful when you know your life is really looking hopeless because the group tells you that you can be like the founding fathers, and go down in history and be respected for taking a stand. He says that when you have screwed up so much in your life that you can never hope to get out of the hole you’ve dug, the group tells you that you can start over, and be a hero doing it. He also has no respect for Cliven Bundy. Jay knows that the Bundys sold those desperate men a false hope, and he says that there is no hell hot enough for them. But then that’s how right wingers talk. They aren’t nice like us liberals. Edited to Add: I wrote this because I think that at least some of the militants that got arrested at the Oregon standoff were into the Sovereign Citizen ideology, and I wanted to show that they might not be the idiots that they appear to be. Like Jay, they might just be desperate to have people see them as being worthy of respect. Sadly, it worked out to be just the opposite. rss@dailykos.com (AuntieB) BLM Bundy Citizen farming malhuer Oregon PosseComitatus PublicLand sovereign sovereigncitizens Standoff _1483692 Fri, 12 Feb 2016 00:51:34 +0000 Before Flint, FBI feared terrorists would poison U.S. water supplies https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/2/1478803/-Before-Flint-FBI-feared-terrorists-would-poison-U-S-water-supplies With Tuesday's announcement that the <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/02/02/fbi-joins-flint-drinking-water-investigation/79683610/">FBI will join the expanding investigation</a>, anyone who doubted the seriousness of the poisoning of the Flint, Michigan, water supply should now recognize their error. After all, until the administration of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and his emergency manager in Flint knowingly jeopardized the health of thousands, the FBI feared al Qaeda terrorists would do the same thing. As the <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/02/02/fbi-joins-flint-drinking-water-investigation/79683610/">Detroit Free Press</a> reported: <blockquote>Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, told the Free Press Monday that federal prosecutors are "working with a multi-agency investigation team on the Flint water contamination matter, including the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, EPA's Office of Inspector General, and EPA's Criminal Investigation Division." The office of U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Jan. 5 that it was assisting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a Flint drinking water investigation, but at that time, Balaya would not say whether the investigation was civil or criminal. </blockquote> Back in 2002, there was no doubt that the FBI's investigations were very much criminal in nature. As <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2002/07/30/feds-arrest-al-qaeda-suspects-with-plans-to-poison-water-supplies.html">Carl Cameron reported for Fox News</a> on July 30 of that year: <blockquote>Federal officials have arrested two Al Qaeda terror suspects in the U.S. with documents in their possession about how to poison the country's water supplies, Fox News has learned. The first case involves James Ujaama, 36, who surrendered to the FBI last week in Denver. Sources say they found documents about water poisoning among several other terrorism-related documents in his Denver residence...Another former member of the mosque is also now in custody and suspected of plotting terrorist attacks. His name is Semi Osman and he too is accused of having documents about poisoning water supplies in his possession when he was arrested. </blockquote> On February 11, 2003, <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/war-on-terrorism">FBI Director Robert Mueller testified</a> to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about al Qaeda terror threats within the United States that his agency was taking very seriously: <blockquote>"Poisoning food and water supplies also may be an attractive tactic in the future. Although technologically challenging, a successful attempt might cause thousands of casualties, sow fear among the US population, and undermine public confidence in the food and water supply."</blockquote> As it turns out, fears of terrorist sabotage of American water supplies pre-dated the September 11 attacks. rss@dailykos.com (Jon Perr) 9-11 alQaeda FederalBureauofInvestigation Flint Isis Michigan Militia OsamabinLaden RickSnyder RobertMueller sovereigncitizens Terrorism watersupplies _1478803 Tue, 02 Feb 2016 20:55:28 +0000 "Judge" to convene "grand jury" in Oregon standoff https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/13/1469384/--Judge-to-convene-grand-jury-in-Oregon-standoff <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/self-appointed_judge_arrives_i.html" target="_blank">The Oregonian reports</a> that a Denver man who has proclaimed himself a US Superior Court judge has arrived in Burns to convene a citizens grand jury to hear evidence against government officials and if necessary charge them. Bruce Ducette, a 54-year old computer repairman, has evidently intervened in other property cases. He says that Harney County residents invited him, and that he will preside over an extra-legal citizens grand jury but “The role of a superior court judge is not very glorified. All we do is write up". So I guess if a real judicial official decides to prosecute, Ducette shouldn't be held responsible for whatever decision the grand jury reaches. Even more bizarre, though, it seems that “Judge” Ducette is not alone. The same article mentions another self-appointed judge calling herself Anna von Reitz. If you dare, you can find her personal website <a href="http://annavonreitz.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. Von Reitz has used her “powers” to issue arrest warrants against essentially the entire federal government, which her <a href="http://www.amazon.com/You-Know-Something-Wrong-When/dp/1491279184/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444223112&sr=8-1&keywords=you+know+something+is+wrong+when" target="_blank">book</a> describes as a “corrupt corporate entity”. rss@dailykos.com (FrustratedProgressive) Bundy malheur occupiedoregon Oregon oregonstandoff sovereigncitizens stupidity Terrorism YallQaeda _1469384 Wed, 13 Jan 2016 19:15:20 +0000 Peace with Honor in Bundystan as the E. Oregon Insurgent Fluffy Unicorns may withdraw soon. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/12/1468852/-Peace-with-Honor-in-Bundystan-as-the-E-Oregon-Insurgent-Fluffy-Unicorns-may-withdraw-soon <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="5472154_1_.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/195032/large/5472154_1_.jpg?1452628602" title="5472154_1_.jpg"> <figcaption>one persons’s paramilitary cosplay & Roman fasces is another’s…red crayon</figcaption> </figure> </div> While tarp boy LaVoy announced that the Bundy gang <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_militants_say.html" target="_blank">will reveal their “exit Plan” on Friday at 7pm at a venue yet to be determined</a> although the Burns, Oregon National Guard Armory would provide that ironic Harper’s Ferry touch, the armed militants continue to hold the Wildlife Refuge and have liberated grazing land to encourage Fluffy Unicorns to run as free as French Vanilla Creamer. <blockquote> The announcement comes a day after the militants <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_bundy_militant.html" target="_blank">destroyed a public fence</a> at the refuge and county residents <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/oregon_standoff_harney_county.html" target="_blank">demanded at a community meeting</a> that Bundy and his group leave. </blockquote> The first of many anticipated takeovers of federal facilities by the Bundystan Insurgent Fluffy Unicorns (BIFU) in the Bantustan enclave occured near Burns Oregon as the Malheur Wildlife Refuge was taken over by a clan led by Cliven Bundy’s offspring who surprisingly have had in-and-out privileges to go into the town for snacks. <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/the-decline-of-the-bundy-rebellion/423693/" target="_blank">Unfortunately since most local residents do not support their actions their takeover seems like an invasion.</a> Little persons are expected to join and enhance the diversity of the insurgency as references to WeethePeople are numerous. Fortunately the Feds do have a handle on the whole operation and regardless of the seeming tolerance of BIFU activities including their liberating of 80 acres of grazing land yesterday, <a href="https://leb.fbi.gov/2011/september/sovereign-citizens-a-growing-domestic-threat-to-law-enforcement" target="_blank">the FBI</a> probably has a good eye on the situation. <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="2911e5b4-442b-4103-bf9c-e3bb90efbd04-large16x9_RanchingStandoff_DiMa12_1_.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/195059/large/2911e5b4-442b-4103-bf9c-e3bb90efbd04-large16x9_RanchingStandoff_DiMa12_1_.jpg?1452632125" title="2911e5b4-442b-4103-bf9c-e3bb90efbd04-large16x9_RanchingStandoff_DiMa12_1_.jpg"> <figcaption>Hi Y’all I’m in my whole armor, protecting sovereign land</figcaption> </figure> <blockquote> They could be dismissed as a nuisance, a loose network of individuals living in the United States who call themselves “sovereign citizens” and believe that federal, state, and local governments operate illegally. Some of their actions, although quirky, are not crimes. The offenses they do commit seem minor, including regularly false license plates, driver’s licenses, and even currency... <a href="https://leb.fbi.gov/2011/september/sovereign-citizens-a-growing-domestic-threat-to-law-enforcement" target="_blank">The sovereign-citizen threat likely will grow as the nationwide movement is fueled by the Internet, the economic downturn, and seminars held across the country that spread their ideology and show people how they can tap into funds and eliminate debt through fraudulent methods.</a> As sovereign citizens’ numbers grow, so do the chances of contact with law enforcement and, thus, the risks that incidents will end in violence. Law enforcement and judicial officials must understand the sovereign-citizen movement, be able to identify indicators, and know how to protect themselves from the group’s threatening tactics. </blockquote> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="80435_1_.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/195039/large/80435_1_.jpg?1452630123" title="80435_1_.jpg"> <figcaption>“Put On The Whole Armor of God” Ephesians 6: 13-17 t-shirts & tactical gear</figcaption> </figure> </div> More interestingly, the central text for the Bundystani insurgency is something called the Armor of God Bible. Like the Anarchist’s Cookbook, a manual cribbed tactically from a variety of other guerilla and military texts and often used to rationalize anti-terror raids on the left, the <a href="http://www.trackingterrorism.org/resource/sovereign-citizens-handbook-pdf" target="_blank">Sovereign Citizen’s Handbook</a> reads like libertarian DIY with selective inerrent interpretation sans POC, so if you don’t agree with the interpretation, then you’re a tool of the politically correct state. rss@dailykos.com (annieli) Bundy CivilRights Culture DomesticTerrorism Environment Guns Law Media Oregon Politics Snark sovereigncitizens Terrorism _1468852 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:06:48 +0000 Armed band of 'Sovereign Citizens' with the Bundy Clan take over a federal building in Burns Oregon https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/4/1465926/-Armed-band-of-Sovereign-Citizens-with-the-Bundy-Clan-take-over-a-federal-building-in-Burns-Oregon An armed band of 'Sovereign Citizens' including celebrity freeloader Cliven Bundy’s son Ammon Bundy have barricaded themselves in a Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building in Burns Oregon. <blockquote> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/264601-militia-occupies-federal-building-in-oregon" target="_blank">Armed Bundy clan takes over federal building in Oregon</a> By Bradford Richardson Armed anti-government protesters are occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Burns, Ore. in what they say is a show of solidarity with two ranchers facing prison time for burning government land. Ammon Bundy, the 40-year-old son of anti-government cattle rancher Cliven Bundy, is among the protesters. The group has refused to leave the . Officials said there are no government employees in the building. “We will be here as long as it takes,” Ammon Bundy <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/03/us/oregon-wildlife-refuge-protest/" target="_blank">told CNN on Sunday</a>. “We have no intentions of using force upon anyone, [but] if force is used against us, we would defend ourselves.” The takeover initially started as a demonstration in support of Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father and son who were convicted of arson and sentenced to five years in prison. But the Hammonds said they are not a part of the demonstration. </blockquote> <blockquote> Prosecutors said the Hammonds set fire to 130 acres of land in 2011 to cover up poaching. The father and son said they started the fires in order to curb the growth of invasive plants and preemptively protect their property from wildfires. The two were convicted of arson three years ago and served time – the father three months and the son one year. But then a judge ruled their terms were too short and ordered them back to prison for approximately four years each. </blockquote> These self styled 'Sovereign Citizens' have decided it’s OK for them to pick and choose which laws to obey. The Hammond family isn’t too pleased to become the poster boys for this gun brandishing anti government fringe movement. rss@dailykos.com (Lefty Coaster) ammonbundy burnsoregon Cowliphate malheurnationalwildliferefuge sovereigncitizens Talibanjo vanillaisis Yawlqaeda yeehawd Yokelharam _1465926 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 10:06:08 +0000 St. Louis Man Plotted to Kill Police & Frame Ferguson Black People for it https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/7/17/1403173/-St-Louis-Man-Plotted-to-Kill-Police-Frame-Ferguson-Black-People-for-it Some criminals are just so dumb, and weird, that it's literally painful to observe what they've done, and what it is they think is a really great idea. Take this guy for example. His really great idea was to go out and kill some Ferguson Police Officers then glue a gun to a Black Man's Hand so that that guy would get shot and the result would spark some kind of Helter Skelter-ish race-war nightmare.  Kinda like Dylann Roof in reverse, sorta. <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/154415/large/David-Michael-Hagler-800x430.png?1437146428" alt="" width="550" height="296" /></div> Yes, <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/off-grid-rambo-plotted-to-spark-violence-against-ferguson-protesters-by-gluing-gun-to-black-mans-hand/">really.</a> <blockquote>Missouri man was charged in a bizarre plot to provoke police violence against black Ferguson protesters. David Michael Hagler intended to kill police and then glue a gun to a black man’s hand in an attempt to get him shot and set off additional violence in the city where protests have continued for nearly a year since the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white cop, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Federal prosecutors say the 53-year-old Hagler made racist statements as he discussed his plans with two confidential informants, which led to a March raid of his St. Louis home that investigators say turned up more than 20 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. </blockquote> Heysus Jimini Chistmas White People!  What is it in your culture, that's makes you generate crazy middle-aged gun hoarder sociopaths like this dude?  Don't your old dad's have kids so they can learn a little humanity and humility? Doesn't this guy know that it's only Muslims who go off on insane little killing sprees against cops and the military?  That is if you don't count <a href="http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bundy-blm/rejected-revolution-jerad-and-amanda-miller-decided-start-their-own">Jared and Amanda Miller</a>, two rejects from the Cliven Bundy compound who decided to go out and start a "Revolution" by shooting two Las Vegas Cops before being cornered and killed in a Walmart. Or <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/06/justice/georgia-courthousre-shooting/">Dennis Marx of Atlanta, GA</a>, a self proclaimed "Sovereign Citizen" who attacked a courthouse wearing a bulletproof vest and a gas mask using smoke grenades, and pepper spray grenades in his attack on police, ultimately wounding one in the leg before he was killed. Or "Sovereign Citizens" <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/22/sovereign-citizen-plot/2690349/">David Allen Brutsche and Devon Campbell Newman</a> who were arrested before they could implement their really great plan to snatch up police officers, put them on "trial" and execute them. Or "Sovereign Citizen" <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2013/03/14/florida-sovereign-citizen-killed-after-allegedly-threatening-police/">Jeffry Allen Wright</a> who police were attempting to arresting on counterfeiting charges when he fired an automatic weapon at them and barricaded himself in his home.  He was ultimately killed when he pulled a pistol on SWAT Officers who had arrived on the scene. Or John Huggins of Utah who was arrested and charged for his really great idea of <a href="http://alternativemediasyndicate.com/2015/03/11/utah-man-pleads-guilty-in-plot/">blowing up a police station</a> in order to foster a "widespread, national uprising against the police".  Yeah, sure, ok dude, that's gonna happen any second now. Any second. It's not like there's a detectable pattern here or nothin', right? [Note these cases are all from just the past year or two, so I'm not even getting to Byron Williams shooting at Oakland Cops, or David Adkisson, or James Van Brunn, or Robert Eric Rudolph or Timothy McVeigh] You'd think by now that police would have developed hair-trigger terror and paranoia whenever they see a 45-65 year old White Guy with a bad attitude and sour expression on their face, not to mention the mountainous obsessive gun stockpile their pushing in a shopping cart [not making that up, the Miller's did that] all while they're flying the Gadsen Flag, but of course. Maybe they just plain forgot about people fitting into "profiles" when those people are all White, because otherwise we'd being hearing all about "White on Cop Crime", wouldn't we? rss@dailykos.com (Frank Vyan Walton) Murder Nutballs Police Recommended sovereigncitizens Terrorism _1403173 Fri, 17 Jul 2015 15:59:28 +0000 Bundy Redux? Oregon Miners in Dispute With BLM Calls for Militia Help And Gets It https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/4/15/1377913/-Bundy-Redux-Oregon-Miners-in-Dispute-With-BLM-Calls-for-Militia-Help-And-Gets-It Yes, we may have a repeat of the Le Affaire Bundy in in southern Oregon where a dispute between the Bureau of Land Management and gold miners may erupt into another standoff with <del>domestic terrorists</del> "Constitutional rights activists" such as the Oathkeepers, after the BLM ordered the miners of the federal land they'd worked for regulatory violations.  Rather than fight the matter in the courts, the miners had a better idea.  They put a call out for help from the men with the long guns who rallied around racist and Sovereign Citizen supporter Cliven Bundy in Nevada last year.  From <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/militia-groups-flock-to-oregon-for-bundy-style-standoff-with-government-jackboots-over-gold-mining-claim/">Raw Story</a>: <blockquote>The owners of the Sugar Pine Mining Claim reached out to the Oath Keepers of Josephine County for help, and the pro-gun group issued a nationwide call for assistance that was picked up by websites such as Infowars and Before It’s News. “If you are a true Militia, true III%, Oathkeeper etc. then you are needed. If you can get away from home to help, NOW IS THE TIME,” says the alert issued by Chris Langer, a firearms instructor and barbecue restaurant owner from Wisconsin. “Just like Bundy ranch, the BLM is out of order! SHUT DOWN THE FOREIGN CORPORATION NOW! The miners need you!!” </blockquote> Nice touch, referring to the BLM as a foreign corporation.  Meanwhile the local Oathkeepers group is already patrolling the area with semiautomatic rifles and other firearms defending their mining pals  as can be seen in this video by <a href="http://www.kdrv.com/news/Mining_Operation_Standoff_Begins.html">a local TV station, KDVR</a>.   <blockquote>The Oath Keepers of Josephine County are gathering at a piece of property near Merlin. They're in the process of setting up a staging area, in order to step in if they are needed by the Sugar Pine miners. “Because we are constitutional group,” said Mary Emerick with Oath Keepers. “We defend the Constitution… And we are here just to make sure that they receive their Fifth Amendment rights which is due process.” </blockquote> So, what is the BLM saying about all this?  Acting like the jack booted thugs they must be, right?  Well, not exactly.  It seems the dispute is over the miners' surface rights and whether a 1955 law canceled any right the miners may have.  The miners are relying on documents to support their claim, documents the BLM asserts were canceled out by a 1955 law.  According to the BLM they have already been in touch with a lawyer representing the miners.  But I guess either the miners don't trust the courts or they aren't all that confidant about their claims, because they asked for armed back-up from the same folks who aided Bundy and terrorized Federal officers, local law enforcement and an entire community in Nevada last year. <blockquote>The BLM says the documents are outdated, and at some point, the property has changed hands which cancels out the grandfather process. Now, the BLM says the miners have to tone down their mining operation to stay in line with the regulations. “We’ve sent them those letters,” said BLM’s Jim Whittington. “They also have the right to appeal our notice, that it requires either a plan of operation or notice, and some informal contacts with their lawyer…it sounds like they may appeal. So if they appeal, that starts another administrative appeal process.” </blockquote> Yeah, that's just awful, isn't it?  Sounds like the only threat is the one posed by the Oathkeepers and their militia pals.  The <a href="http://sputniknews.com/news/20150415/1020901864.html#ixzz3XOirGvvK">local Sheriff</a> has stepped in to try to calm things down: <blockquote>"Sheriff Daniel in an attempt to mediate this conflict has contacted and met with the Coordinator of the Oath Keepers and the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Land Management out of Eugene. This was done to ensure the claim owner’s right to due process and avoid confrontation in the region. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office was informed by the BLM that no enforcement action would be taken by their organization and the claim owner is guaranteed his right to due process. Further the BLM has met with the claim owner’s attorney to ensure the appeal process.</blockquote> Meanwhile, these loons with the "Arizona State Militia" are already posting videos of themselves in their car on the road to save their "their friends and neighbors" from being "enslaved or beaten or tortured" by "government jackboots" - and the Chinese? <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R8UK-5_eZS4?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe> rss@dailykos.com (Steven D) BLM ClivenBundy DomesticTerrorism Militias Oathkeeepers Oregon sovereigncitizens whitemenwithguns _1377913 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 16:55:57 +0000 Mike Huckabee wants to tell you something about the negro https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/24/1347147/-Mike-Huckabee-wants-to-tell-you-something-about-the-negro <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/117344/large/huckabee_on_cliven_bundy.jpg?1416860202" alt="" width="500" height="297" /></div> After days of tense anticipation, the residents of Ferguson, Missouri will soon learn whether a grand jury will indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown. In advance of that announcement, former Baptist Minister and Arkansas Governor turned Fox News star and 2016 White House hopeful Mike Huckabee has poured gasoline on the fire of an already incendiary situation. The <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/203730-gop-stars-steer-clear-of-nevada-ranch-fight">same Mike Huckabee</a> who came to the defense of heavily armed militia members who threatened to kill federal officials to protect million-dollar tax cheat Cliven Bundy now c<a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/huckabee-ferguson-protestors-medgar-evers-killers">ompares the Ferguson protesters</a> to the killers of civil rights hero Medgar Evers. As the Governor explained in "<a href="http://www.mikehuckabee.com/2014/11/the-right-to-protest">The Right to Protest</a>": <blockquote>Some of the protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, remind me of historic figures. But not the ones they think... A grand jury in Ferguson will soon decide whether to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown. At this point, none of us knows their decision, or what happened that night. We appoint grand juries to uncover the truth, wherever it may lead. But that's not good enough for some of the protesters. Some are threatening violence if they don't get an indictment. I'm old enough to have seen this mob justice mindset before -- from lynch mobs who didn't like the legal process, so they took the law into their own hands. The real heroes of racial justice were peaceful protesters like the Rev. Martin Luther King. Today, every town has a street named after him. You don't see any monuments to Bull Connor or the killers of Medgar Evers. Look, everyone has the right to protest. But you don't have the right to become so inflamed that you embrace the very injustice you're protesting.</blockquote> But Mike Huckabee was whistling a different tune when hundreds of gun-toting militia members threatened to kill Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officers who came to begin collecting over $1 million in unpaid grazing fees from Cliven Bundy. <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4496760/mike-huckabee-talks-cliven-bundy">Huckabee stood by the man</a> and his hundreds of well-armed supporters, people the FBI for at least 20 years has classified as "<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/19/1293258/-Bush-Administration-labeled-Bundy-Ranch-style-outlaws-domestic-terrorists">domestic terrorists</a>." <blockquote>"I'm not here to jump in on the middle of whether Cliven Bundy ought to pay the state or pay anybody for the chance for his cows to eat some grass. Here's what I would suggest: that there is something incredibly wrong when a government believes that some blades of grass that a cow is eating is so an egregious affront to the government of the United States that we would literally put a gun in a citizen's face and threaten to shoot him over it."</blockquote> Continue reading below. rss@dailykos.com (Jon Perr) BLM ClivenBundy DarrenWilson DomesticTerrorism Ferguson MedgarEvers MichaelBrown MikeHuckabee Militia Nevada sovereigncitizens _1347147 Mon, 24 Nov 2014 20:18:14 +0000 A Second Helping of Common Law Grand Jury Schadenfreude. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/10/1335589/-A-Second-Helping-of-Common-Law-Grand-Jury-Schadenfreude A while back I submitted a diary detailing the shenanigans of one Terry Trussell of Cross City Florida, who was recently arrested for ten felony counts including impersonating a public officer, retaliation against a public officer and unlawful use of a simulated legal process.  For a quick refresher, here's the link for that diary: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/07/1327808/-Now-For-a-Little-Common-Law-Grand-Jury-Schadenfreude?detail=hide">http://www.dailykos.com/...</a>   Well Thursday was arraignment day and he did not disappoint.  Follow me below the orange web of deception for an update. rss@dailykos.com (shades at midnite) citizengrandjuries CommonLaw DixieCountyFlorida sovereigncitizens _1335589 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 14:00:05 +0000 Do one in four Americans really support secession? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/9/20/1331164/-Do-one-in-four-Americans-really-support-secession <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/106881/large/kbkhvcvg.jpg?1411234722" alt="" width="550" height="278" /></div> With the recent vote in Scotland over independence from the United Kingdom, Reuters decided to gauge American attitudes about the union of states. According to their <a target="a" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/19/us-usa-secession-exclusive-idUSKBN0HE19U20140919">new poll</a>, about a quarter of Americans are open to the idea of their state seceding from the United States. The exact wording of the question was, “Do you support or oppose the idea of your state peacefully withdrawing from the United States of America and the federal government?” The <a target="a" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War">last time that sort of thing happened</a> it wasn't peaceful and more than 600,000 people died. However, no one seriously believes a fracture is going to happen anytime soon where the south rises again, Texas lets its swagger go to its head or the southwest tries to break away to become <a target="a" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztl%C3%A1n">Aztlán</a>. Because the other way of reporting Reuter's poll is three out of four Americans either don't support secession or think it's a shitty idea. But beyond that, it's interesting to look at the 20 plus percent that answered in the affirmative and ask why? Is it a reflection of frustration with the current national political climate? Is it the result of decades of politicians portraying themselves as outsiders running against an out-of-touch Washington, D.C. that's the "enemy" of the people? Follow beneath the fold for more .... rss@dailykos.com (Doctor RJ) CivilWar Recommended Secession sovereigncitizens Tea Party TeaParty TexasvWhite _1331164 Sun, 21 Sep 2014 03:14:26 +0000 #ME-GOV LePage Caught Lying, Re: “Arrest For Treason/ Execution” Accusations https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/7/1/1310958/--ME-GOV-LePage-Caught-Lying-Re-Arrest-For-Treason-Execution-Accusations Part 2; link here to Part 1 (<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/01/1310948/--ME-GOV-LePage-Met-Multiple-Times-W-FBI-Watched-Terrorists-Re-Arrest-Execute-of-Dem-Leaders">#ME-GOV LePage Met “Multiple Times” W/ FBI Watched Terrorists Re: Arrest, Execute of Dem Leaders</a>). UPDATE: Reactions from within the Maine GOP range from overwhelming silence to <a href="http://maineprogressiveswarehouse.me/2014/06/30/updated-breaking-lepage-met-multiple-times-with-fbi-known-domestic-terrorist-group-discussed-executing-democratic-leaders/">weak attempts to deflect</a> to <a href="http://downeasttodc.bangordailynews.com/2014/06/30/home/latest-charges-could-dry-up-crucial-funding-for-lepage/#.U7LviZa90wc.twitter">now this</a>: <blockquote> <div style="/*margin-left: 2em*/">But a Republican strategist, also not active in the gubernatorial race, said the revelations are both demoralizing for the governor’s staffers and could genuinely harm fundraising. “It’s demoralizing and stressful for their inner circle to fight battles like this because they all know it’s true. So what they are going to be doing is fighting this while they should be putting a field operation together,” he said. “Crazy [stuff] like this is going to take a precarious slush fund and drain it.” </div> </blockquote> A review of last night's two phone calls by Maine Republican Governor Paul LePage to the managing editor of the Bangor Daily News (<a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2014/06/30/politics/state-house/lepage-denies-he-discussed-executing-maine-democratic-leaders/?ref=topStories0">"LePage denies he discussed ‘executing’ Maine Democratic leaders"</a>). The first call: <blockquote> <div style="/*margin-left: 2em*/">“I was never in the room where ‘execute’ was used,” the governor said in a phone call to the BDN managing editor. “It never happened,” he said later in the call. “We did not discuss execution, arrest or hanging.” When told that the audio of the show was included on Tipping’s blog, LePage said he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhN_fV7ZOPQ">wanted to see the tapes</a>. “None of this stuff ever happened,” he said again. He said he talked with the group about the U.S. and Maine constitutions. Further, he said, he disagreed with much of what the men said. “I listened and listened and listened,” LePage said. “Some points they were making were reasonable and some were off-the-wall.” </div> </blockquote> The second call by LePage: <blockquote> <div style="/*margin-left: 2em*/">In a second phone call to the BDN, LePage said he didn’t know about a Freedom of Access Act request that Tipping had filed to secure details of his meetings because “no one told me about it.” He said he didn’t stop meeting with the Sovereign Citizens after the FOAA request was filed, as Tipping contends, but stopped meeting with them “because they were not listening.” “They got mad and called me all kinds of names,” he said. LePage said the group called again Monday to meet with him after Tipping’s blog post, but he said “no way.” </div> </blockquote> A few reactions to the BDN headline alone: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en" defang_xml:lang="en"> Actual headline: "LePage denies he discussed ‘executing’ Maine Democratic leaders” <a href="http://t.co/6cFZpU3WQo">http://t.co/...</a> — Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) <a href="https://twitter.com/aterkel/statuses/484016056705359872">July 1, 2014</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en" defang_xml:lang="en"> Maine Democratic Party: "We're speechless. America's Craziest Governor has officially outdone himself." <a href="http://t.co/cZnpDX6lMt">http://t.co/...</a> — Working Maine (@WorkingMaine) <a href="https://twitter.com/WorkingMaine/statuses/484015769945010177">July 1, 2014</a></blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (maineprogressiveswarehouse) 2014 elections 2014elections DomesticTerrorism FederalBureauofInvestigation JanetMills JustinAlfond Maine MarkEves MikeMichaud PaulLePage sovereigncitizens _1310958 Tue, 01 Jul 2014 18:26:53 +0000 #ME-GOV LePage Met “Multiple Times” W/ FBI Watched Terrorists Re: Arrest, Execute of Dem Leaders https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/7/1/1310948/--ME-GOV-LePage-Met-Multiple-Times-W-FBI-Watched-Terrorists-Re-Arrest-Execute-of-Dem-Leaders NOTE- This is Part 1 of 2 (so far); both can be found with photos, Scribd documents and more here: <a href="http://maineprogressiveswarehouse.me/2014/06/30/updated-breaking-lepage-met-multiple-times-with-fbi-known-domestic-terrorist-group-discussed-executing-democratic-leaders/">(UPDATED) Breaking: LePage Met “Multiple Times” With FBI Known Domestic Terrorist Group, Discussed Executing Democratic Leaders</a> and here:<a href="http://maineprogressiveswarehouse.me/2014/07/01/arrest-for-treason-execution-docs-released-proving-lepage-lied-to-bdn-re-sovereign-citizens-talks/">“Arrest For Treason/ Execution” Docs Released, Proving LePage Lied To BDN, Re: Sovereign Citizens Talks</a>. This is a still evolving story and will be updated as necessary on <a href="http://maineprogressiveswarehouse.me/">Maine Progressives Warehouse</a>. (UPDATE) Before even hitting "send" on this draft write-up, there have been new developments of note (<a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2014/06/30/politics/state-house/lepage-denies-he-discussed-executing-maine-democratic-leaders/?ref=topStories0">"LePage denies he discussed ‘executing’ Maine Democratic leaders"</a>), as LePage has this evening called the managing editor of the Bangor Daily News- twice- and has either claimed: <blockquote> <ul> <li>That this all didn't happen/ portions of it happened. </li> <li>There was no five page memo/ well, maybe there was/ well, okay, there WAS a five page memo regarding the legality of arresting and executing members of Democratic leadership. </li> <li>He was going to sue both the BDN and Mike Tipping for the story.</li> </ul> </blockquote> Things definitely heating up quickly in Augusta, as a portion of Mike Tipping's "As Maine Went" was released today implicating Maine Governor Paul R. LePage Sr of meeting multiple times with a known domestic terrorist group and directing his legal staff to investigate the legality of arresting and executing two of his Democratic rivals, Senate President Justin Alfond and Speaker of the House Mark Eves. Yes- you read that right- "Arrest and Execute". rss@dailykos.com (maineprogressiveswarehouse) 2014 elections 2014elections aroostookwatchmen DomesticTerrorism FederalBureauofInvestigation JanetMills Maine MikeMichaud PaulLePage sovereigncitizens _1310948 Tue, 01 Jul 2014 17:48:52 +0000 Armed bomber attacks GA courthouse, shoots guard, who shoots and kills him https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/6/6/1305016/-Armed-bomber-attacks-GA-courthouse-shoots-guard-who-shoots-and-kills-him This man, who in another article is said to be a "Sovereign Citizen", had bombs strapped to himself, several firearms and a lot of ammunition in his van. He threw down homemade spike strips, attempting to block police cars from approaching the court house, and tried to run over a guard, then fired through his windshield, wounding the guard, who shot and killed him. The attacker, who lived nearby, also had ties for use as handcuffs, and water as if he was planning taking hostages and enduring a long siege...the clip is from GA news as of this afternoon...this was a few miles from Atlanta, GA... <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/06/justice/georgia-courthouse-shooting/index.html?fb_action_ids=10202813642155534&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582">http://www.cnn.com/...</a> Police say the man had not been in his home for a least 10 days, and they have the home "contained" and are beginning to try to detect explosive booby traps. rss@dailykos.com (old mark) Community Culture Georgia Law National Security NationalSecurity sovereigncitizens Terrorists _1305016 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 21:35:07 +0000 OK- How are they NOT going to call this terrorism? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/6/6/1304961/-OK-How-are-they-NOT-going-to-call-this-terrorism Sorry for the quick diary- didn't see any talk of this on the recent list. rss@dailykos.com (Remembering Jello) DomesticTerrorism Georgia Gun Violence GunViolence rightwingcrazies sovereigncitizens _1304961 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 18:57:08 +0000 Saturday nutpick-a-palooza: 'Bundy's perfectly fine words were taken out of context' conspiracy https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/4/26/1294743/-Saturday-nutpick-a-palooza-Bundy-s-perfectly-fine-words-were-taken-out-of-context-conspiracy <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/19/1293067/-Saturday-hate-mail-a-palooza-Meet-Robert-Jackson-my-new-pen-pal">Robert Jackson</a> was a fun interlude, but he's no longer responding to my emails. Oh well. So it's back to some nutpick, and today's is super fun. Source material, from Thursday: <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/80069/large/Bundy.png?1398472511" alt="" width="550" height="431" /></div> <blockquote>There are new rumors going around about Cliven. We all know that with the media, words are taken out of context, meanings are twisted, and they can take anything and turn it into what they want it to be. Cliven is a good man, he loves all people, he is not a racist man. He wants what is best for everyone.</blockquote> Ha ha ha ha! Okay. Head below the fold for lots of delicious Facebook wingnut angst. rss@dailykos.com (kos) ClivenBundy Nutpick sovereigncitizens _1294743 Sat, 26 Apr 2014 17:00:15 +0000 Spike in fraudulent liens filed by "sovereign citizens" https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/8/24/1233513/-Spike-in-fraudulent-liens-filed-by-sovereign-citizens The "sovereign citizen" movement made the news earlier this week when it emerged that several Las Vegas-area members of this kooky movement were planning to kidnap, torture and kill police officers.  But a front-page story in this morning's New York Times  (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/images/2013/08/24/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf">below the fold</a>) reveals the main weapons of choice for this movement that claims common law is the only legitimate authority are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/citizens-without-a-country-wage-battle-with-liens.html">fraudulent liens against government officials</a>. <blockquote>Sovereign citizens believe that in the 1800s, the federal government was gradually subverted and replaced by an illegitimate government. They create their own driver’s licenses and include their thumbprints on documents to distinguish their flesh and blood person from a “straw man” persona that they say has been created by the false government. When writing their names, they often add punctuation marks like colons or hyphens. Adherents to the movement have been involved in a host of debt evasion schemes and mortgage and tax frauds. Two were convicted in Cleveland recently for collecting $8 million in fraudulent tax refunds from the I.R.S. And in March, Tim Turner, the leader of one large group, the Republic for the united States of America, was sentenced in Alabama to 18 years in federal prison. (His group does not capitalize the first letter in united.) Sovereign citizens who file creditor claims are helped by the fact that in most states, the secretary of state must accept any lien that is filed without judging its validity. </blockquote> One of the most staggering cases of this took place in Minneapolis.  When Thomas and Lisa Eilertson had their Minneapolis home foreclosed on in 2009, they retaliated by filing $250 billion in fraudulent liens and other claims against Hennepin County officials.  A guy known only as "Paul Kappel" convinced them that they could induce "death by a thousand paper cuts" by bombarding officials with claims on their property.  For their troubles, they wound up with 23 months in prison.  Another crazy case comes from Chicago, where Cherron Phillips stands accused of filing <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-09/news/chi-woman-charged-with-filing-false-claims-against-federal-officials-20121109_1_liens-federal-agents-indictment">false liens against 12 federal officials</a> demanding that they each pay her brother $100 billion.  When Phillips bombarded the court with several unintelligible motions, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sovereign-citizen-trial-20130728,0,2865327.story">the presiding judge basically threw up his hands</a> and adjourned for the day. rss@dailykos.com (Christian Dem in NC) Fraud Right-Wing Extremism SovereignCitizen sovereigncitizens _1233513 Sat, 24 Aug 2013 16:38:46 +0000 Las Vegas anti-government 'Sovereign Citizens' couple planned to torture & execute police officers https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/8/23/1233389/-Las-Vegas-anti-government-Sovereign-Citizens-couple-planned-to-torture-execute-police-officers A paranoid 'Sovereign Citizens' couple in Las Vegas were planning on kidnapping, torturing, and executing police officers. <blockquote><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/23/las-vegas-police-plot/2692007/">'Sovereign citizens' held in plot to kill Vegas cops</a> LAS VEGAS (AP) — A couple spent hundreds of hours over four months plotting to abduct, torture and kill Las Vegas police officers as a way to attract attention to their anti-authority "sovereign citizens" movement, police said. David Allen Brutsche and Devon Campbell Newman attended training sessions about sovereign citizen philosophy, shopped for guns, found a vacant house and rigged it to bind captives to cross beams during interrogation, and recorded videos to explain their actions and why officers had to die. </blockquote> Their plan for political murders was foiled foiled by police infiltrators who videotaped a number of meetings with the couple. <blockquote>Newman, 67, of Las Vegas was a bit nervous, according to a police report. She asked at one meeting to unplug the television because she thought authorities could use it to listen to their conversations. Brutsche 42, an ex-con child sex offender from California, practiced stalking Newman, posing as a police officer and putting a gun to her head to take her into custody, the report said. </blockquote> What a couple of sweethearts!                                         <img src="http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a498/salishsea1/159-1tyh7WHi551_zps52541596.jpeg" width="180" height="190" />                                                 David Allen Brutsche <blockquote>"We need to arrest the police and take them to our jail and put them in a cell and put them on trial in a people's court," Brutsche said July 9, according to the arrest report. "If we run into the position that they resist, then we need to kill them."</blockquote> Ugh! <blockquote><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/us/las-vegas-police-kidnapping-plot/index.html">Police: 'Sovereign citizens' planned to execute Las Vegas cops</a> Their plan did not single out a particular officer or law enforcment agency, but was to be a "target of opportunity," Seebock said. "The suspects further believed once the first kidnapping and execution was accomplished, they would be compelled to keep repeating their actions -- kidnapping and killing multiple officers," he said. </blockquote> Why do I get the feeling this won't be the last one of these groups to be uncovered, or worse to emerge on their own violently. The Fright Wing hate machine is overheating. rss@dailykos.com (Lefty Coaster) sovereigncitizens ViolentExtremists _1233389 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 21:15:29 +0000 FBI Warns of Sovereign Citizens Groups, Should we be Worried? Probably https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/2/7/1062437/-FBI-Warns-of-Sovereign-Citizens-Groups-Should-we-be-Worried-Probably <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/5790408372/" title="Federal Bureau of Investigation Seal by DonkeyHotey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2357/5790408372_140673415d.jpg" width="500" height="490" /></a> (FBI Seal courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/5790408372/">DonkeyHotey</a>, via Flikr) When is it time to take something the FBI says seriously? It is more that a little tragic that one has to ask that question, but after the way that the criminal Bush administration used pronouncements from various government agencies to keep fear alive as a political force it is legitimate. Still when they warn, in a general way, about a movement that has been violent in the past, and there is an uptick the violence from its adherents recently, that is probably something worth paying attention to. The movement that the FBI is concerned about is the “Sovereign Citizen” movement. You might have heard something here and there about them, but let me lay it out for you. Sovereign Citizens are anti-government in the extreme. They believe (well they believe a lot of crazy crap) at the core that the United States government is not legitimate. The premise is that prior to the 14th Amendment people living in the United States were not US citizens but rather citizens of their individual states. They also believe that the enactment of the 16th Amendment and leaving the gold standard effectively bankrupted the United States and that taxes of any kind are illegitimate. rss@dailykos.com (Something the Dog Said) 14thAmendment Anti-DefamationLeague Anti-GovernmentExtremists Extremists FBI FOTL FreemenontheLand OklahomaCityBombing Police Recommended RightWingIdeology Rule of Law RuleofLaw SovereignCitizenMovement sovereigncitizens TerryNichols Violence Warning _1062437 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:51:37 +0000 Sovereign Citizens Aren't the Only Lawless Rogues on the American Frontier https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/7/12/993887/-Sovereign-Citizens-Aren-t-the-Only-Lawless-Rogues-on-the-American-Frontier Cross Posted at <a href="http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2011/07/sovereign-citizens-arent-only-lawless.html">Legal Schnauzer</a> Sovereign citizens are attracting major attention in recent weeks, with <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/15/60minutes/main20062666.shtml">an investigative piece on 60 Minutes</a> and at least <a href="http://www2.dothaneagle.com/news/2011/may/21/3/sovereigns-gain-attention-law-enforcement-ar-1872889/">one major newspaper piece</a> on the movement's impact here in Alabama. Since the 60 Minutes piece debuted back in May, sovereign citizens have been all over the news. A sovereign citizen in Pensacola, Florida, <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/sovereign_citizen_opens_fire_on_store_because_it_r.php">opened fire on a seafood restaurant</a> after learning it had run out of crawfish. (Seems like a perfectly reasonable reaction to us.) Meanwhile, sovereign citizens in Alaska are facing charges for <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/state_trial_of_ak_sovereign_citizens_may_be_delaye.php">allegedly plotting to murder a federal judge</a>. Another sovereign citizen <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/sovereign_citizen_thrown_out_of_pizza_chain_bankru.php">caused a ruckus at a bankruptcy hearing</a> for a pizza chain in Chicago. What is a sovereign citizen? It's an anti-government whack job who usually doesn't pay taxes, doesn't carry a driver's license, and doesn't hold a Social Security card or any other form of official ID. The individual considers himself "sovereign," and thus not subject to the laws of the United States. In short, sovereign citizens consider themselves to be above the law. If that's the definition, we have a whole bunch of "sovereign citizens" in this country, although many of them go by other names. Some we call "judge." Some we call "lawyer" or "counsel." Others we call "CEO." In that last bunch are familiar names such as Ken Lay, Bernard Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowski, and many others. rss@dailykos.com (RogerShuler) AngelaTurnerDrees CampusCrestCommunities KileTurner Law sovereigncitizens TedRollins _993887 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:43:05 +0000 Sovereign Citizens - A Nation Unto Themselves? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/5/22/978397/-Sovereign-Citizens-A-Nation-Unto-Themselves Returning guest Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center joined Equal Time this week to talk about the growth of the Sovereign Citizens movement. An off-shoot of the Posse Comitatus, they are an anti-government group who believe that no law applies to them, as government has no validity. Find out more about how they operate by tuning into <a href="http://equaltimeradio.org/archives/1391">Equal Time Radio's May 20th show</a>. <blockquote>This week we featured: The Rapture. Or was that RUPTURE? The slate of GOP presidential candidates. HA HA HA HA !!!!!!! And, of course, Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Equal Time Radio) EqualTimeRadio GOP Candidates GOPCandidates MarkPotok Rapture SouthernPovertyLawCenter sovereigncitizens SPLC _978397 Mon, 23 May 2011 04:04:24 +0000 Sovereign citizens squatting in Atlanta-area homes https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/23/895632/-Sovereign-citizens-squatting-in-Atlanta-area-homes Federal, state and local officials in the Atlanta area have a new headache on their hands.  An increasing number of people are squatting in foreclosed houses, and backing up their claims with <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-battling-sovereign-citizens-squatting-foreclosed-homes/story?id=11445382">theories from the sovereign citizens movement</a>. <blockquote> The squatters operate either as full-fledged members of the sovereign citizens movement or they are part of a growing number of people who use the movement's ideology to worm their way out of a bad financial situation. Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said the last few years have seen a rise in what he called "dabblers" in the sovereign citizens movement, people he said who would "never hurt a fly" but who are looking for a way out of their economic desperation. </blockquote> The squatters file phony quitclaim deeds (documents that pass interest in real estate from one person to another) and use them as "proof" they "own" the houses.  But they aren't exactly being conspicuous about it--they usually choose really big houses, often worth a million dollars. rss@dailykos.com (Christian Dem in NC) Georgia SovereignCitizen sovereigncitizens _895632 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:14:56 +0000