Sovereign Citizens
The threat to officer safety posed by sovereign citizens is well known. Here’s how to be safe and professional during an encounter
Sovereign citizens fancy themselves outside of the laws of the land and don’t recognize the legitimacy of the U.S. government
Law enforcement must understand the sovereign citizen movement, and be able to identify specific components that make up the movement, in order to protect themselves.
“This is a tragic incident. None of us wanted this to happen. You can clearly see the deputies did not want this to happen,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said
At the time of the incident, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales stated the man was a sovereign citizen, despite the man’s claims that he did not belong to that group
Understanding the behavior and ideology of sovereign citizens is crucial for ensuring the safety of law enforcement officers, especially during traffic stops
The shooting occurred when the man, who identified as a Moorish sovereign citizen, resisted a deputy who asked him to leave a closed public park
The sovereign citizen movement has become the bane of many police officers in the U.S.
Deputies found illegal explosives and firearms in the suspects’ vehicle and on their “remote sovereign citizen compound”
Several Rise of the Moors members claimed discrimination after officers arrested them during an armed standoff last month
Several Rise of the Moors members are seeking $70 million in damages and claim that Massachusetts courts have no jurisdiction over the case
SWAT
A long-range acoustic device (LRAD) helped disable and apprehend nine Rise of the Moors suspects, police said
SWAT
The men had refused to put down their weapons or comply with police orders, claiming to adhere to “Moorish Sovereign Ideology”
Rural cops routinely encounter violence related to anti-government sentiment
While attempting to handcuff the passenger, the woman pointed a gun at the trooper’s head and pulled the trigger
“I’m not driving, I’m traveling”
Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus spent more than a month in an encampment organizing armed patrols and serving as an intermediary between a self-styled militia and local authorities
While much of the attention has been focused on foreign terror organizations, it’s important to remember the threats posed by domestic terrorism groups
Police in Louisiana say a Mississippi man claimed to be a “sovereign citizen” who’s immune from arrest during a traffic stop
The Ammon Bundy-led takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge began Jan. 2 and lasted nearly six weeks
Former Gilberton Chief Mark Kessler says he fed information to the FBI about people he thought were sovereign citizens
Attacks funded and orchestrated by a transnational terror groups such as al Qaeda, AQAP, al Shabaab, and ISIS merit consideration, but lone wolves and the grassroots Jihad remain the biggest threat
60-year-old man who shot at officers and firefighters Monday espoused anti-government views and claimed to be starting his own nation called “Doug-E-Stan”
The victory a rancher claimed in a government standoff with armed militiamen has served to embolden right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists across the country
Brent Cole, 60, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a firearm upon a peace officer
Man was sentenced to five years’ probation after pleading guilty to a felony conspiracy to kidnap police officers charge