The driver of the SUV in the Waukesha Christmas Parade Attack claims he’s a sovereign citizen. What does it mean?
What are Sovereign Citizens?
Sovereign Citizens are people who believe they are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Therefore, they are exempt from US laws. They use conspiracy theories and falsehoods to justify their activities. In the case of Darell Brooks, the man who ran an SUV through a Christmas Parade in Wisconsin in 2021, they use it to justify illegal and violent actions.
Darrell Brooks is not the only case someone using this claim in court. In 2010, A father and son murdered two police officers while traveling through Arkansas.
Where did the Sovereign Citizen Movement start?
Like most conspiracy theories, the Sovereign Citizens Movement has antisemitic and racist origins. The founder is William Potter Gale. Known for being tied to several white supremacist groups he’s credited with creating the movement. He and his group, The John Birsch Society, refused to pay taxes, filed property liens and committed violence against public officials. These practices still exist within the movement today while the racist and antisemitic ideologies no longer seem to dominate the conversation.
What do Sovereign Citizens believe?
Their belief system comes from an old conspiracy theory. That the American Government has been secretly replaced by foreign agents. The exact point at which this change occurred varies. Some claim the replacement occurred during the Civil War while others reference the “abandoning” of the Gold Standard in 1933. Nevertheless, Sovereigns believe that US judges and lawyers are aware of the takeover of the government and argue against it. This is the “explanation” for denials of sovereign’s motions and filings.
Sovereigns proof for this claim varies across the board with one of the “strongest” pieces being birth certificates. This idea is the straw man theory. Since the majority of Government documents use all capitalized letters, sovereigns believe this is the legal personality rather than the physical individual. All debts, taxes, legal responsibilities and liabilities belong to this legal personality, the straw man, rather than the individual.
The FBI recognizes this theory as a scam and the IRS considers it a frivolous argument and fines those who claim it on their returns.
If you kept up with the Darrell Brooks trial (This is the man who drove an SUV through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin) you might have noticed he regularly mentions that he does not consent to be called Darrell Brooks. When asked to state his name for the record he says, “I am here as a third party intervener that matter appearing as authorized representative for my client.”
This does not excuse Darrell from any convictions or sentencing he may face. Unfortunately, claiming to not be yourself doesn’t exclude you from the law.
What did happen to the Gold Standard in 1933?
In 1933, the US dollar became backed by, the “full faith and credit,” of the US government. President Franklin Roosevelt ended private ownership of gold in large amounts but governments could still sell gold for dollars to the US Treasury for a fixed amount. This practice ended with President Nixon in 1971.
Is it legal to be a Sovereign Citizen?
Not necessarily. You may believe that you are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government and while you are entitled to that belief you are not entitled to the actions that might follow. Like earlier, you are still required to pay taxes and abide by the law.
This is true no matter where you are residing and your citizenship. If an American citizen is found with a gun other than a shotgun, air gun, or gun for a competition, or for a specific purpose in Japan they would be forced to go through the Japanese legal system and face punishment.
It may feel obvious to us, but for many Sovereigns, the idea that you abide by your own laws rather than the laws of your location is ludicrous.
Because of this, A Sovereign citizen has never won a legal battle based on them being sovereign.
Sovereigns have filed bogus property liens that may not be discovered until their victim is attempting to sell or mortgage their property or take out a loan. These Loans can be for amounts up to the quadrillions. (Yes quadrillions)
They have also committed a number of illegal housing schemes. One tiktoker, Shanetta (@regblackgirl) had a face-off with a sovereign in June of 2021. Where she explained that shortly after buying a house and starting renovations, someone sawed off the locks, placed their own on, and was then occupying the home. The SWAT Team and Newark Police ended up arriving and arresting the man residing in her home. Unfortunately, since she has no relationship with the man who was staying in her house she isn’t eligible for a restraining order and still open to harassment from these extremists.
Sovereigns still have to face the punishments for the illegal acts they commit. As far as I can tell there is no legal benefit to being a sovereign citizen.
Have Sovereign Citizens won in court?
As The Southern Poverty Law Center writes, Sovereign Citizens' weapon of choice in paper. They commit was is known as, “Paper Terrorism.” Simple traffic violations or pet licensing provokes dozens of court filings with hundreds of pages of “Pseudo-legal nonsense.”
SPCL notes Donna Lee Wray, who filed 10 sovereign documents over a two-month period over a $20 pet licensing fee. When the prosecutor dropped the case, she declared victory.
Courts are forced to respond to the documents. The large size and nonsensical language the documents are written in make the work of judges, lawyers, and other court staff exceedingly taxing.
Sovereigns have filed bogus property liens that may not be discovered until their victim is attempting to sell or mortgage their property or take out a loan. These Loans can be for amounts up to the quadrillions. (Yes quadrillions)
Lawyers have stated that sovereign citizens are one of the reasons they are not prosecutors anymore. They would be constantly threatened, living in fear, and “litigation terrorists.” Talking about Sovereigns will sue you in federal court and serve the IRS documents trying to get your information. There have even been cases of them filing fake tax forms forcing their enemies to be audited.
Sovereigns are known for being a menace to the judicial system. They are known for looking for any opportunity to find some mistake to get them out of any trouble they are in.
Many speculate that this is part of Darrell Brook's logic. That by making himself such an inconvenience to the court he might be held in contempt which would allow grounds for a mistrial. Others note that his insistence on there being a plaintiff, in this case, is the same logic. For the record, there are no plaintiffs in criminal proceedings, only civil. Darrell Brooks will likely face a guilty verdict.
In the end, the sovereign citizen defense is probably the weakest one you could pull. While I am not a lawyer, I’d recommend you don’t classify yourself as a part of a group on FBI watch lists.
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