Trouble from what I’ve seen.
See the Wikipedia article.
They think they are bound by common law only.
Some of them get into convoluted reasoning about how they write their names, in quote marks, or capital letters, that this asserts their indepedence from the government.
Not Tea Party people.
A guy from my area was supposedly one. Him and another guy killed a couple of cops in Arkansas or Louisiana. It’s not an organized group. Anyone can call themselves a Sovereign Citazen.
Do you mean sovereign, with the extra e?
The word is sovereign.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_citizen_movement
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/05/nation/la-na-sovereigns-20130406
In short, they deny the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Often propose that despite the constitutional amendment taxes are illegal.
Often associated, but not exclusively, with white supremacist groups.
Often associated, but not exclusively, with Christian Identity movement.
Often violently antigovernment.
Most subscribe to some serious conspiracy theories about government, the treasury, and citizenship.
In my previous life as a Chicago LEO I can share this.
The ones in big cities, anyway, are just kooks. The usually come from a Black Nationalist mindset (not Farrakhan’s crew, however).
They think they can make their own license plates, make their own driver’s licenses and like to argue with the police.
They are, however, not stupid enough to not file tax returns because then they would be giving up all that free government stuff.
They are low-income and not organized. Anyone trying to organize them would find that they are pretty much a bunch of worthless goofs.
They are pointed out and demonized by the G because in inner cities you certainly cannot have anyone denying the benefits of BIG G.
About STARTThe irony is that Dr. Gary LaFree contributed to this report as well:
OverviewThe National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism—better known as START—is a university-based research and education center comprised of an international network of scholars committed to the scientific study of the causes and human consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world.
Headquartered at the University of Maryland, START supports the research efforts of leading social scientists at more than 50 academic and research institutions, each of whom is conducting original investigations into fundamental questions about terrorism, including:
•What is the nature of terrorism in the world today? How has terrorist activity evolved over time? How does terrorism vary across geographies? And what do these trends indicate about likely future terrorism?
•Under what conditions does an individual or a group turn to terrorism to pursue its goals? What is the nature of the radicalization process?
•How does terrorism end? What are the processes of deradicalization and disengagement from terrorism for groups and individuals?
•What actions can governments take to counter the threat of terrorism?
•What impact does terrorism and the threat of terrorism have on communities, and how can societies enhance their resilience to minimize the potential impacts of future attacks?START experts apply a range of research methods to the exploration of these questions in order to deliver findings based on the best available open-source evidence and data. At the heart of START's work are the principles that the research it is conducting must be both scientifically rigorous and directly relevant to homeland security professionals.
START is committed to the widespread dissemination of its research findings not only to homeland security professionals through tailored research, education and training efforts, but also to students of all levels and to the general public. START has developed educational materials and programs specifically designed for instructors and students at the secondary, university, and graduate levels. Educational resources available through START include relevant teaching tools and a range of unique data sources that can be integrated into an array of courses to deepen students' understanding of the dynamics of terrorism. START also has internships and funding opportunities available to undergraduate and graduate students engaged in terrorism research.
In addition, START has developed educational programs, including an Undergraduate Global Terrorism Minor Program available to students at the University of Maryland and an online Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis Program, available to qualified students around the world.
Since its launch in 2005, START has been headed by Dr. Gary LaFree, a professor of criminology at the University of Maryland, and START's work is managed by a small staff of terrorism experts and university administrators at Maryland, who work closely with the collection of scholars and students that comprise the START Consortium.
Among many points in this paper, it makes distinction between many groups. You have to read & comprehend to grasp it...I'm unable to adequately summarize. However, I did pull this interesting quote:
Extremists strive to create a homogeneous society based on rigid, dogmatic ideological tenets; they seek to make society conformist by suppressing all opposition and subjugating minorities. That distinguishes them from mere radicals who accept diversity and believe in the power of reason rather than dogma.42 In the context of democratic societies, (violent) extremist groups, movements and parties tend to have a political programme that contains many of the following elements:Sorta sounds like our current Administration, doesn't it???
• Anti-constitutional, anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, authoritarian;
• Fanatical, intolerant, non-compromising, single-minded black-or-white thinkers;
• Rejecting the rule of law while adhering to an ends-justify-means philosophy;
• Aiming to realise their goals by any means, including, when the opportunity offers itself, the use of massive political violence against opponents.Extremists on the political left and right and those of a religious-fundamentalist orientation as well as those of an ethno-nationalist political hue tend, in their struggle to gain, maintain or defend state power, to show a propensity to prefer, on their paths to realise their political programmes:
• Use of force/violence over persuasion;
• Uniformity over diversity;
• Collective goals over individual freedom;
• Giving orders over dialogue.43
The Sovereign Citizen was distributed as the top threat to the Federal Government by a Communist organization called the Southern Poverty Law Center.
https://twitter.com/Thoreau_H_D/status/496349634277957632/photo/1
Oh, and I forgot. The Soverign Citizen is you. The US National that upholds and defends the US Constitution.
Basically, they are declaring war on Americans and their private property. That’s all. Nothing to see here. It’s just a coup.
I thought they were nuts, but then got to thinking the left thinks we’re nuts, and most if not all of the negative things being said about them are from the Left’s news organs so why wouldn’t I give the benefit of the doubt in all things lawful to a group that seems more like me than the people badmouthing them.
Certainly not lobbying for them, just reminding myself that I don’t believe anything I hear about politics from traditional news services so that I’ll discount just about everything I hear from them and listen to just about anyone who disagrees with them.
I have seen several articles from leftist groups misportraying these “sovereign” people as “tea party members” to smear the tea party.
Of course the government itself is full of similar leftist groups that are probably also mistakenly conflating the two...
Be aware that a lot of the information on the sovereign citizen movement is posted by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a smear against conservatives. This article should be taken with skepticism, and sites like this outright lie about the motivations of citizens (resisting government incursion on your property is different from randomly shooting cops and squatting in homes).
If you live in a wealthy area near a high-crime area, you MUST be aware of squatters. Make sure your guns are not accessible, that you are always carrying a gun, and that you are either well trained in the usage of firearms or can count on the cops in your area. These nutjobs will almost always shoot to kill, so be aware of that. Do not attempt to reason with one.
I’m not really up on them either except for a recent occurance in my town. A couple in their late twenties, stopped in a fairly new vehicle with a hand printed license plate. They had no ID, no money, credit cards or anything most people normally carry. They used made up names and were uncooperative with the cops. I think they were finally identified positively and paid some fines and went on their way (after spending a couple of weeks in jail). Probably young anarchists or something. Just weird kids
Nut cases who don’t want to pay taxes or obey laws.
Anyone who wants to skirt whatever law or social norm. Seems they’re everything from supremacists to just plain nuts. Here’s one from my local area recently