This brief serves to educate readers about the sovereign citizen movement, presenting relevant case studies and offering suggestions for measures to address problems caused by this movement. Sovereign citizens are considered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to be a prominent domestic terrorist threat in the United States, and are broadly defined as a loosely-afflicted anti-government group who believes that the United States government and its laws are invalid and fraudulent. Because they consider themselves to be immune to the consequences of American law, members identifying with this group often engage in criminal activities such as tax fraud, "paper terrorism", and in more extreme cases, attempted murder or other acts of violence. Sovereign Citizens is one of the first scholarly works to explicitly focus on the sovereign citizen movement by explaining the movement's origin, interactions with the criminal justice system, and ideology.

Autorentext

Dr. Christine M. Sarteschi, LCSW is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Criminology. She teaches courses in behavioral science that cover a wide range of topics including: human behavior, juvenile justice, mental illness and crime, cold case research, problem solving courts, mass murder, and extreme violent crime. Her research has appeared in The British Journal of Social Work, Aggression and Violent Behavior, The Journal of Criminal Justice, among others. She has served as a peer reviewer for the National Science Foundation as well as other scholarly journals. Dr. Sarteschi's most recent Springer brief includes Mass and Serial Murder in America.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: The Origins of the Sovereign Citizen Movement

Tax Protestors. 14

Anti-Federalist 17

The Posse Comitatus. 17

The Militia Movement 19

Conclusion. 23 References. 24

Chapter 2: Behavior and Underlying Ideology. 27

Jurisdiction. 29

Warrants. 30

Joinder 30

I Do Not Consent 31

Traveling. 32 Refusing to Identify Themselves. 33

I Don't Answer Questions. 34

Self-Made License Plates. 34

Black's Law Dictionary. 35

What's the Emergency?. 35

Fee Schedules. 36

What's Your Bond Number?. 36

Do You Have a Business Card?. 36

Recording Traffic Stops or Live Broadcasting. 37

Calling 911. 38

Return Driver's License. 39

Revoking the Vehicle's Registration. 40

Not US Citizens. 41

Driving is a God-Given Right. 42

Not a Car, Truck or Vehicle. 43

Corpus Delicti 45

Where is the Injured Party?. 48

Did You Take an Oath?. 50

What Crime Am I Being Accused of Committing?. 52

Am I Being Detained?. 53

You Are Dismissed. 54

Lie to Police. 55

I Demand to Speak to Your Supervisor 56

Chapter 3: Violence and Sovereign Citizens. 58

Andrew Joseph Stack. 60

Jerry Kane Jr. and Joseph Kane. 60

Nathaniel Sach Kargas. 61

Jered and Amanda Miller 63

Steven Paddock. 63

Travis Reinking. 64

Jared Loughner 65

Terry Lyn Smith. 65

John Terry Chapman Jr 66

Forrest Gordon Clark. 66

Scott Roeder 67

Attempts, Threats, Unsuccessful Plots, and Jailhouse Conversions. 68

Janay Rebecca Smith. 69

Mitchell Timothy Taebel 69

Michael Wayne Parsons. 70

Ted Klaudt 72 Stephen Lorenzo. 73

The Insane Deuces. 74

References. 76

Chapter 4: Paper Terrorism and other Tactics. 84

What is Paper Terrorism?. 84

False Liens. 84

OIDs and False Refund Cases. 88

Bond Process. 89

House Squatting. 90

Sovereign Citizen Fraud in US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Programs  91

Midwives and Private Membership Associations (PMAs) 92

Federal and State Laws Against Paper Terrorism.. 93

Profile of A Paper Terrorist 94

Conclusion. 95

References. 96

Chapter 5: Moors. 102

Origins of the Moors. 104

Moorish Sovereigns. 105

Moorish Sovereigns and Their Association With Other Groups. 108

The Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. 109

Islamic State (ISIS) 111

Scientology and the Anti-Vaccination Movement 112

References. 117

Chapter 6: Sovereign Citizens in Court 123

Sovereign Citizens and Mental Illness. 128

Review of the Literature. 128

Female Sovereign Citizens. 132

References. 139

Chapter 7: Countering the Sovereign Citizen Movement 143

Laws. 143

Squatting and Traffic Stops. 144

The Courts. 147 The Fight Against Domestic Terrorism.. 150

References. 154