The sovereign citizens movement. Why do they say the law doesn’t apply to them?
The sovereign citizens movement is a loosely organised ideology that claims that individuals are sovereign entities who are not bound by government authority or laws. They claim that they are not subject to the jurisdiction of the government and therefore do not have to pay taxes, follow certain laws, or obey police orders.
Sovereign citizens have been around since the 1970s in the US and turn up occasionally in the news, and in the courts, where they attempt to deny the court’s power over them. They are, therefore, a curious and somewhat sinister part of the legal landscape.
There’s a few strange concepts in the above paragraphs to look at a bit more closely. First, what is meant by a “sovereign” entity?
The word “sovereign” derives from the Latin for “above” and the Old French word for “highest” or “chief”. The modern word, when used before a noun, means ‘free to govern itself”, as used in the common phrase “sovereign nation”. Sovereign citizens, therefore, are free to govern themselves.
Why do they believe they are free to govern themselves? The origins of the movement are in the US, and have links to extremist Christian groups that believe that there is a law derived from the Bible that is the only true law, and that by declaring themselves sovereign citizens, the followers of the true law are no longer bound by the laws of their country.
The sovereign citizens, also sometimes called “Freeman on the land” have a presence in Australia and are considered by the authorities to be anti-authority, anti-government, and have been linked to extremism and conspiracy theories. During the Covid pandemic, there was a resurgence of the movement who were against the government opposed restrictions.
The sovereign citizens can be recognised in their written correspondence by strange language usage that appears to be a kind of legalese. For example, they will refer to the government as a corporation, and use strange punctuation or other methods to separate their first name from their last name, for example: David William of the family Smith, or Smith; David. This is done apparently to make the point that their name is not the same as them as a natural person, but is a reference to an artificial entity.
5 responses to a sovereign citizen at a traffic stop
The sovereign citizen movement and sovereign citizen traffic stop has become the bane of many police officers in the U.S.
April 15, 2024 08:50 AM •
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The sovereign citizen movement has become the bane of many police officers in the U.S.
What is a sovereign citizen?
Self-proclaimed sovereign citizens feel that due to some contrived loopholes in the constitution, they can declare themselves free and laws do not apply to them.
However, people who get their legal advice from Wikipedia find that these loopholes don’t tend to actually exist.
For many police officers, a traffic stop will be the most likely way to encounter a member of the sovereign citizen movement. Please do not take them lightly. Most sovereign citizens are basically law-abiding people, albeit highly misinformed about how the law works. However, some sovereigns have shown a willingness and ability to be violent. If you suspect you are dealing with a sovereign citizen as a LEO, please call for backup.
If you read any sovereign literature, they advocate trying to confuse and befuddle the police. Their mantra is to make a cop so confounded that the officer decides to end the contract before they become more perplexed.
1. “I am not driving, I am traveling.”
Often the sovereign citizens don’t bother to pay for their licenses. They feel the right to free movement means they do not need a license. Travel is a right, which is true.
What the sovereigns fail to grasp is they are free to travel, by foot, by bike, even by horse. A car is a complex machine. To operate a complex machine requires training and some licensure to operate said machine. Heck, here in Wisconsin all our driving laws are worded with “operate a motor vehicle”; none say “drive.”
| Can a sovereign citizen drive without a driver’s licenses?
No. All motor vehicle operators needs a license to operate the motor vehicle.
2. “As a free person, I do not recognize the jurisdiction you have blah blah blah blah…”
At some point, a sovereign citizen will say they are a free person. As a free person, they are not subject to any local laws and are “free of any legal constraints,” including taxes and fines.
What the sovereign citizen movement fails to grasp is that they want all the protection of local government without paying the cost for it. Ask a sovereign what they would do if their child was hurt. Ask if their house was on fire and how they plan to put it out.
Their response is always to call 911. It is a funny, eye-opening experience to point out that 911 and the fire/EMS service is a local, tax-funded entity. So if they are a free person, well maybe 911 is something they are free to keep away from as well — as in no ambulance and no fire trucks for them because they are not paying for the service.
3. “Speeding is not a crime; a crime requires an ‘injured party.”
In a sovereign citizen’s twisted view of the law, they feel ordinance violations are not valid because there is no victim. Yet they forget we have different levels of legal violations in this country.
Here in Wisconsin most, traffic and other minor violations are ordinance violations. Not a crime, but a civil forfeiture. Thus, no “injured party” is needed. It is a civil matter, not a criminal matter.
4. “As a free person, your license plate taxes do not apply to me.”
It seems some sovereign citizens will make their own license plates for their cars. These plates will display terms like:
- US Constitutional Plate
- Exempt: Sovereign Neutral Non-Combatant
- Sovereign Christian Citizen
- Other non-legal terms
They feel they are exempt from the ‘illegal’ tax on car ownership.
These sovereigns love to use legal terms and talk about contracts. They forget the nice roads they “travel” on have to be paved and, in the winter, plowed. Point out to them that there is a social contract between the people using the roads and the people keeping the roads open for travel. Someone needs to pay for the cost of the roads, so license plate costs are not a tax, they are a user fee.
American State Nationals: The newest group of sovereign citizens
Understanding the behavior and ideology of sovereign citizens is crucial for ensuring the safety of law enforcement officers, especially during traffic stops
5. “Am I being detained?”
The sovereign citizens and the CopBlock movement both love this question. People who got their law degrees by reading Facebook comments feel that being detained is the same as an arrest. Yet real lawyers can explain the difference between the two.
Yes, a traffic stop is a short investigative detention. An officer with reasonable suspicion that a violation has taken place may stop someone for a short time to establish facts related to that violation. How brief that short time will be is decided solely by the citizen. If they want to play games, they are the ones making the contact last longer.
Conclusion
Remember, some sovereign citizens have a propensity for violence. Make sure you have backup. Keep your eyes open for threats. Just because sovereign citizens are dumb enough to get brainwashed into some crazy belief system does not mean they are too stupid to learn tactics to hurt us.
The primary tactic of the sovereign citizen movement is causing confusion. Turn the tables on them and confuse them. Make them question what they have learned by watching videos on YouTube. Twice I have used the example of the fire department on a sovereign citizen. Both times they were so flummoxed they forgot all the other rhetoric.
