Viral videos show Missouri police clash with ‘sovereign citizens’ during traffic stop
A couple from Troy, Missouri, released Troy Police Department body camera footage of a July 2024 arrest. The couple claim officers abused them in front of their children during a traffic stop. The Post-Dispatch edited the footage for length, and blurred out the children’s faces.
TROY, Mo. — A Missouri police department is reviewing procedures after video surfaced this week showing an officer’s confrontation with anti-government “sovereign citizens,” pulled over for speeding and driving with fake plates.
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Sovereign citizen gets dose of reality in Florida police stop
When a deputy requested a driver’s licence, the motorist handed him a laminated piece of paper with the American flag on it
Kelly RissmanThursday 16 November 2023 00:24 GMT
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A run-of-the-mill traffic stop quickly escalated when a Florida driver claiming to be a sovereign citizen was pulled over.
Volusia Deputies pulled over a blue Ford truck on 11 November after noticing it had a “sovereign citizen tag,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a statement on Facebook.
In body camera footage posted by the sheriff’s office, the tag is visible, hanging in place of a state license plate on the back of the truck. The tag mentions “Global Postal Union Treaty” and “Geneva Convention neutral zone transport vehicle.” The tag also says “do not stop” and “do not detain” and features an American flag in the upper left corner.
“The reason why I’m stopping you, boss, is I didn’t recognise the tags on your vehicle,” the officer said. He asked for his licence and registration. The driver handed the officer a laminated piece of paper with the American flag in the upper left-hand corner.
When the officer pressed for the licence again, the driver pointed to the laminated paper and replied, “I have it right there.”
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=316&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FVolusiaSheriff%2Fvideos%2F1058947165232331%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0
The driver was talking on speakerphone to a woman throughout the entire traffic stop. At this point, the woman on the other end of the line said, “Do not show him anything.” The driver told her that he was just showing the officer his paperwork, to which the woman shouted: “No, he doesn’t get to see any f***ing paperwork.”
The driver pointed the phone to the officer, who told the woman the man had to identify himself or “there’s gonna be an issue.” The woman then replied, “He’s a national of the neutral powers state. As you know, that removes him from your jurisdiction.”
“It doesn’t matter who he’s identified as. He’s operating a motor vehicle in the state of Florida, ma’am,” the police officer retorted. He then explained the situation to the woman, saying that given his lack of proper tags, it appears “unregistered,” and since he hasn’t provided a licence, it appears the driver is operating a vehicle without one.
She kept insisting that he signed a “treaty” and that the officer was violating it. She then mentioned “the terms of the Geneva Convention.”
The officer checked the vehicle before telling the driver that it was unregistered. The driver said “Right there is all I got” when the deputy asked about having a Florida or out-of-state driver’s licence.
Fed up, the officers apprehended the driver. Moments later, the woman on the phone rolled up in a red truck. Officers ordered her to get out of her vehicle but she didn’t comply, so they smashed her driver-door window’s glass and arrested her as well, the footage shows.
Detry Wogerman was arrested on charges of driving an unregistered motor vehicle, driving with a suspended/revoked licence and resisting an officer without violence, the sheriff’s office wrote. Laralynne Nabozny was arrested on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, the statement added.
“Attention sovereign citizens: In Florida, the law is real, and deputies really will enforce it,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
What cops need to know about sovereign citizen encounters
The threat to officer safety posed by sovereign citizens is well known. Here’s how to be safe and professional during an encounter
September 20, 2024 03:56 PM •
Law enforcement officers across the country are experiencing a growing number of contacts with sovereign citizens, individuals and groups who possess a strong anti-government ideology.
Because they believe the government, its representatives, laws and policies are illegitimate, sovereign citizens regularly find themselves in conflict with the law. Although it’s difficult to accurately access their numbers, it is safe to say that since 2000, their numbers and the violent incidents associated with them have increased.
Here, I’ll provide you with some investigative tips and suggestions should you encounter a sovereign citizen, but, I’d be remiss if I did not take a moment to emphasize that whether you’re dealing with a novice or a hardliner sovereign citizen, the prospect of violent action and threats to officer safety should never be taken for granted.
1. Proceed with caution
The threat to officer safety posed by sovereign citizens is well known. One must look no further than the tragic deaths of Sergeant Brandon Paudert and Officer Bill Evans of the West Memphis Police Department in order to understand the risk of spontaneous violence from self-proclaimed sovereign citizens. I strongly suggest to any officer encountering a suspected sovereign citizen to proceed with extreme caution, employing all necessary tactical officer safety precautions.
One of the first things to recognize is that a sovereign citizen is likely to be argumentative with police authorities. They may proclaim themselves as sovereign citizens right from the beginning or they may simply challenge your right or authority to stop/detain them.
They may question your authority or where you derive your jurisdiction and inform you that they do not believe in the United States Constitution or any other “illegitimate” government documents from which police powers are derived.
2. Stay on your game
Don’t get pulled into a battle of wits based upon sovereign citizen rhetoric. Many of them speak as if they are reading from a script. Often, their mantra is intended simply to throw you off your game. Too often our egos kick in whenever our authority is challenged and we end up arrogantly contributing to the escalation of an argument rather than guiding its de-escalation.
I encourage you to be knowledgeable about the Constitution, the laws of your state and your enforcement options. With sovereign citizens, I suggest you try to de-escalate any situation when you have the opportunity. Also, recognize that the sovereign citizen may attempt to videotape your encounter.
3. Remain calm and professional
Don’t engage in an argument. Explain your purpose or intentions as you would in any other circumstance. The fact that you are being challenged does not change your training or what lawful enforcement actions are available to you.
On YouTube and other internet sites, there are some great examples of officer/sovereign encounters where officers remain professional and task-oriented despite being confronted and challenged.
I also encourage you to take a moment and watch this brief safety video offered by West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert, father of Sergeant Brandon Paudert, regarding the dangers of sovereign citizens:https://www.youtube.com/embed/d_y-gLm9Hrw?enablejsapi=1
4. Beware of fraudulent documents
Sovereign citizens can be an investigative challenge. Much of their personal identification information, such as birth certificates, driver’s licenses or vehicle tags are fraudulent documents. When asked to provide a name, they may respond that they don’t have a name.
They may identify themselves as “the representative of…(their legal name).” If you do receive a name, it may be a sovereign name, compounded with “El” or “Bey” and intended to denounce their association with the name provided to them by a government entity.
Be sure to document all known aliases.
5. Gather intelligence
Another challenge faced by investigators is the fact that the sovereign citizen movement is not an organized civil or criminal enterprise. It’s a fractured series of loosely affiliated individuals who adhere to anti-government ideologies.
This lack of organization does little to help investigators to get a foothold. However, the more we are able to learn about these unique individuals, the better armed we will be for future encounters and successful prosecutions. Despite the challenges posed by sovereign citizens, intelligence gathering will be our most valuable investigative tool. Therefore, officers should conduct thorough background checks based upon the information he or she is able to gather.
Obviously, we will look at their criminal records but go beyond that. Make use of every database you can think of, including social media, to learn as much as you can. Consider the areas they frequent, the vehicles they drive, the people they associate with, their interests, hobbies, family, their parole or probationary status, employment or social service benefits status, prior drug/alcohol abuse, scars, marks, tattoos and possible weapons in the home.
As much as they proclaim their disdain for the government, they are known to take full advantage of all the government is willing to give them. You’ll see below that as much as they admonish our justice system, they are happy to try to use it against us.
6. Interview and debrief
Upon arrest, make it a point to talk to these individuals. I don’t mean interrogate them; I mean interview and debrief them. Attempt to learn as much as you can about them.
I like to begin with an information sheet. This is a form that gathers general but pertinent information about them. Not only name, birth date., address, phone number and physical description, but also where they work, who they reside with, their marital status, children, emergency contact information and who they might stay with in the event of an emergency.
This seems like a standard part of arrestee processing, but what it does is gather intelligence while establishing a dialogue that helps them acquire a level of comfort with being questioned.
Proceed by asking curious questions about their sovereign status. Your posture should be one of understanding rather than confrontation. In a non-arrest situation, I advise officers to complete and submit FI reports detailing as much information as possible.
Informants, family, friends or other associates also have relevance with regard to sovereigns. These associations may help you determine, locations, hideouts, vehicles, weapons caches or other useful information toward building a case.
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7. Share information
Communicate all the information you gathered with specialized units within your department or agency. Some departments have an intelligence unit that gathers and records as much information on sovereign citizens in as possible. Communicate with neighboring jurisdictions, state and federal authorities, prosecutors and even your local attorney general’s office.
One reason to share this information is the FBI has recently deemed sovereign citizens paper terrorists.
Sovereign citizens have been known to inundate the courts with false or fraudulent documents intended to file lawsuits against law enforcement and other judicial or government officials. Sovereigns may also attempt to place a lien against your personal property.
Only a handful of states have laws in place to protect public officials from such claims and allow law enforcement to criminally charge sovereigns for such false filings. Therefore, sharing all the information you gather will help to keep everyone informed should you be targeted.
8. Conduct surveillance and search warrants
Conducting surveillance is another beneficial investigative effort. Not only might you want to target them visually but, depending on the circumstances and laws within your state, you may want to consider applying a GPS unit on a target vehicle or installing pole cameras in known sovereign territory.
Surveillance will not only serve the purpose of gathering intelligence but also provide vital officer safety information should a search warrant execution be required.
Conduct search warrants whenever probable cause exists. Obviously, an officer will document the probable cause contributing to the case but, if possible, include intelligence/background information on known or suspected sovereigns and their anti-government ideologies.
Include items to search for such as anti-government papers, pamphlets, books, false documents and weapons.
Their computers and electronic data storage devices can contain information on social media and other websites visited. Hard drives can be of tremendous evidentiary value.
9. Use tact, patience and persistence
Don’t get caught up in the rhetoric and remain task oriented. Work hard to learn as much as you can about sovereigns through traditional and non-traditional methods and share what you’ve learned.
Ask questions and seek the advice of those investigators who have had frequent contact with sovereigns.
10. Above all, stay safe
Be creative, be thorough, but most of all when it comes to sovereign citizens, be safe.
