View source for Sovereign citizen movement

{{Short description|Anti-government conspiracy movement}}
{{Pp|reason=Persistent addition of [[WP:INTREF|unsourced or poorly sourced content]]. This article is never going to be anything other than a crank magnet.|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Distinguish|sovereign individual}}
[[File:Sovereign Citizen License Plate Illustration 01.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Example illustration of a sovereign citizen homemade [[Vehicle registration plate|license plate]]]]

The '''sovereign citizen movement''' (often abbreviated as '''SovCits''')<ref name="living">{{citation |title=Why do 'living people' believe they have immunity from the law? |author= Kaz Ross |date= July 28, 2020 |work= University of Tasmania |url=https://www.utas.edu.au/news/2020/7/28/1038-why-do-living-people-believe-they-have-immunity-from-the-law/ |access-date= January 20, 2022 }}</ref> is a loose group of anti-government activists, [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorists]], [[vexatious litigant]]s, [[tax protester]]s and financial [[scam]]mers found mainly in English-speaking [[common law]] countries—the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Sovereign citizens have their own [[Pseudolaw|pseudolegal]] belief system based on misinterpretations of common law, and claim not to be subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them.<ref name="Laird2014">{{Citation |last=Laird |first=Lorelei |title='Sovereign citizens' plaster courts with bogus legal filings – and some turn to violence |date=May 1, 2014 |url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/sovereign_citizens_plaster_courts_with_bogus_legal_filings/ |work=ABA Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102010820/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/sovereign_citizens_plaster_courts_with_bogus_legal_filings/ |access-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-date=November 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name="SPLC2022">{{Citation |title=Sovereign Citizens Movement|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] |access-date=January 6, 2022}}</ref> The movement appeared in the U.S. in the early 1970s and has since expanded to other countries; the similar [[freeman on the land movement]] emerged during the 2000s in Canada before spreading to other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries.<ref name="Netolitzky20182">{{cite report |last1=Netolitzky |first1=Donald |title=A Pathogen Astride the Minds of Men: The Epidemiological History of Pseudolaw |date=3 May 2018 |ssrn=3177472 }}</ref> The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] has called sovereign citizens "anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or 'sovereign' from the United States".<ref name="FBI2010">{{citation |title=Domestic Terrorism. The Sovereign Citizen Movement |work= |publisher = Federal Bureau of Investigation|date= April 13, 2010 |url= https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2010/april/sovereigncitizens_041310/domestic-terrorism-the-sovereign-citizen-movement|access-date= 2022-02-06}}</ref>

The sovereign citizen phenomenon is one of the main contemporary sources of pseudolaw. Sovereign citizens believe that courts have no [[jurisdiction]] over people and that certain procedures (such as writing specific phrases on bills they do not want to pay) and [[loophole]]s can make one immune to government laws and regulations.<ref name="furiouspaper">{{cite report |last1=Netolitzky |first1=Donald |title=A Rebellion of Furious Paper: Pseudolaw As a Revolutionary Legal System |date=3 May 2018 |ssrn=3177484 }}</ref> They also regard most forms of [[tax]]ation as illegitimate and reject [[Social Security number]]s, [[driver's license]]s, and [[Motor vehicle registration|vehicle registration]].<ref>[http://www.adl.org/mwd/students.asp#1.%20%20What%20is%20a%20%22sovereign%20citizen%22? "Message for Students: What Is the Sovereign Citizen Movement?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113231828/http://www.adl.org/mwd/students.asp |date=January 13, 2013 }}. ''The Militia Watchdog Archives''. [[Anti-Defamation League]].</ref> The movement may appeal to people facing financial or legal difficulties or wishing to resist perceived government oppression. As a result, it has grown significantly during times of economic or social crisis.<ref name="wastingtime">{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Calvin|title=Sovereign citizens: sitting on the docket all day, wasting time|journal=Minnesota Law Review |date=March 2, 2022 |url=https://minnesotalawreview.org/2022/03/02/sovereign-citizens-sitting-on-the-docket-all-day-wasting-time/|access-date=2022-11-18 }}</ref> Most schemes sovereign citizens promote aim to avoid paying taxes, ignore laws, eliminate debts, or extract money from the government.<ref name="SPLC2022"/> Sovereign citizen arguments have no basis in law and have never been successful in court.<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="furiouspaper"/>

American sovereign citizens claim that the [[United States federal government]] is illegitimate.<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="carey">{{Cite journal |last=Carey |first=Kevin |date=July 2008 |title=Too Weird for ''The Wire'' |url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/0805.carey.html |url-status=live |journal=[[Washington Monthly]] |volume=May/June/July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304014929/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/0805.carey.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=July 19, 2008}}</ref> Sovereign citizens outside the U.S. hold similar beliefs about their countries' governments. The movement can be traced to [[Radical right (United States)|American far-right groups]] such as the [[Posse Comitatus (organization)|Posse Comitatus]] and the [[Constitutionalism in the United States|constitutionalist]] wing of the [[American militia movement|militia movement]].<ref name=NYT82313 /> The sovereign citizen movement was originally associated with [[White supremacy|white supremacism]] and [[antisemitism]], but it now attracts people of various ethnicities, including a significant number of [[African Americans]].<ref name="SPLC2022"/> The latter sometimes belong to self-declared "[[Moorish sovereign citizens|Moorish]]" sects.<ref name="SPLC2019">{{Citation |title=Moorish Sovereign Citizens |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moorish-sovereign-citizens |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711190507/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moorish-sovereign-citizens |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] |access-date=July 11, 2019 |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The majority of sovereign citizens are not violent,<ref name="Laird2014"/><ref name="marple">{{Citation |last=Weill |first=Kelly |title=Republican Lawmaker: Recognize Sovereign Citizens or Pay $10,000 Fine |date=January 4, 2018 |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-lawmaker-recognize-sovereign-citizens-or-pay-dollar10000-fine |work=[[Daily Beast]] |access-date=August 4, 2020}}</ref> but the methods the movement advocates are illegal. Sovereign citizens notably adhere to the fraudulent schemes promoted by the [[Redemption movement|redemption "A4V" movement]]. Many sovereign citizens have been found guilty of offenses such as tax evasion, [[Adverse possession#United States|hostile possession]], forgery, threatening public officials, bank fraud, and traffic violations.<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="FBI2010"/><ref name="adl">{{citation |title=The Sovereign Citizen Movement in the United States |work= |publisher = Anti-Defamation League |url= https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/sovereign-citizen-movement-united-states|date=2023-12-21|access-date= 2024-06-12}}</ref> Two of the most important crackdowns by U.S. authorities on sovereign citizen organizations were the 1996 case of the [[Montana Freemen]] and the 2018 sentencing of self-proclaimed judge [[Bruce Doucette]] and his associates.<ref>{{citation |title='Sovereign Citizen' Bruce Doucette Sentenced To 38 years |author=Allison Sherry|work= |publisher = Colorado Public Radio|date= May 22, 2018 |url= https://www.cpr.org/2018/05/22/sovereign-citizen-bruce-doucette-sentenced-to-38-years/|access-date= 2022-02-03}}</ref>

Because some have engaged in armed confrontations with law enforcement,<ref name="Laird2014"/><ref name="ontherise">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kevin |date=March 30, 2012 |title=Anti-government 'Sovereign Movement' on the rise in U.S. |work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-30/anti-government-militia-groups-freeman/53873496/1 |url-status=live |access-date=July 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216083743/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-30/anti-government-militia-groups-freeman/53873496/1 |archive-date=December 16, 2017}}</ref> the FBI classifies "sovereign citizen extremists" as [[Domestic terrorism in the United States|domestic terrorists]].<ref name="FBI2011">{{Cite web |date=September 1, 2011 |title=Sovereign Citizens A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement |url=http://leb.fbi.gov/2011/september/sovereign-citizens-a-growing-domestic-threat-to-law-enforcement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210013240/http://leb.fbi.gov/2011/september/sovereign-citizens-a-growing-domestic-threat-to-law-enforcement |archive-date=December 10, 2011 |access-date=May 3, 2015 |website=Domestic Terrorism |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref> [[Terry Nichols]], one of the perpetrators of the 1995 [[Oklahoma City bombing]], subscribed to a variation of sovereign citizen ideology.<ref name="adl"/> In surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015, representatives of U.S. law enforcement ranked the risk of terrorism from the sovereign citizen movement higher than the risk from any other group, including [[Islamic extremists]], [[American militia movement|militias]], [[White power skinhead|racist skinheads]], [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazis]], and [[Radical environmentalism|radical environmentalists]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rivinius |first=Jessica |date=July 30, 2014 |title=Sovereign citizen movement perceived as top terrorist threat |url=http://www.start.umd.edu/news/sovereign-citizen-movement-perceived-top-terrorist-threat |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806164554/http://www.start.umd.edu/news/sovereign-citizen-movement-perceived-top-terrorist-threat |archive-date=August 6, 2014 |access-date=August 7, 2014 |publisher=National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=David Carter |author2=Steve Chermak |author3=Jeremy Carter |author4=Jack Drew |title=Understanding Law Enforcement Intelligence Processes: Report to the Office of University Programs, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, July 2014, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (College Park, Maryland) |url=https://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_UnderstandingLawEnforcementIntelligenceProcesses_July2014.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809043850/http://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_UnderstandingLawEnforcementIntelligenceProcesses_July2014.pdf |archive-date=August 9, 2014 |access-date=August 7, 2014}}</ref> In 2015, the Australian [[New South Wales Police Force]] identified sovereign citizens as a potential terrorist threat.<ref name="NSW2015ABC">{{Cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=James |last2=McGregor |first2=Jeanavive |date=November 30, 2015 |title=Sovereign citizens: Terrorism assessment warns of rising threat from anti-government extremists |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-30/australias-sovereign-citizen-terrorism-threat/6981114 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130183050/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-30/australias-sovereign-citizen-terrorism-threat/6981114 |archive-date=November 30, 2015 |access-date=November 30, 2015 |work=ABC News |location=Australia}}</ref>

== History ==
===Origin===
{{see also|Radical right (United States)|Posse Comitatus (organization)|American militia movement|Patriot movement|Christian Patriot movement|Tax protester history in the United States}}
The sovereign citizen movement originated from a combination of [[tax protester]] ideas, 1960s-70s radical and [[Racism in the United States|racist]] anti-government movements<ref name=kent2015>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen A. |title=Freemen, Sovereign Citizens, and the Challenge to Public Order in British Heritage Countries |journal=International Journal of Cultic Studies |date=2015 |volume=6 |pages=1–15 |id={{EBSCOhost|101149893}} |oclc=5807743608 |url=https://skent.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Freemen-Internl-J-of-Cultic-Studies.pdf }}</ref> and [[pseudolaw]], which has existed in the U.S. since at least the 1950s.<ref name="furiouspaper"/> Their belief in the illegitimacy of [[Income tax in the United States|federal income tax]] gradually expanded to challenging the legitimacy of the government.<ref name="SPLC2022"/>

The concept of a "sovereign citizen" whose rights are unfairly denied appeared in 1971 within the [[Posse Comitatus (organization)|Posse Comitatus]] as a teaching of [[Christian Identity]] minister [[William Potter Gale]].<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="carey"/> The Posse Comitatus was a [[Far-right politics|far-right]] anti-government movement<ref name="SPLC2022"/> that denounced the [[income tax]], [[credit theory of money|debt-based currency]], and [[debt collection]] as tools of [[International Jewish conspiracy|Jewish control]] over the United States.<ref name="balleck">{{cite book|last1=Balleck|first1=Barry|title=Allegiance to Liberty: The Changing Face of Patriots, Militias, and Political Violence in America |date= 2014 |publisher= Praeger |isbn= 978-1-4408-3095-2|pages=111–112 }}</ref> The roots of the sovereign citizen movement were thus strongly associated with [[white supremacy|white supremacist]] and [[Antisemitism in the United States|antisemitic]] ideologies.<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="carey"/> Though Gale's racist beliefs were far from unique, he innovated by devising a "legal" philosophy about the government's illegitimacy.<ref name="carey"/> 

After originating in that particular group, the sovereign citizen concept went on to influence the broader tax protester and [[Christian Patriot movement|Christian Patriot]] movements.<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="carey"/> Until the 1990s, observers mainly classified the Posse Comitatus as a tax protester movement rather than an outright far-right extremist group. But while the Posse Comitatus, Christian Identity, and militia movements did not overlap entirely, they had members in common and influenced each other.<ref name="ascendant">{{cite journal |last1=Hodge |first1=Edwin |title=The Sovereign Ascendant: Financial Collapse, Status Anxiety, and the Rebirth of the Sovereign Citizen Movement |journal=Frontiers in Sociology |date=26 November 2019 |volume=4 |page=76 |doi=10.3389/fsoc.2019.00076 |pmid=33869398 |pmc=8022456 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Developments===
{{see also|Montana Freemen|Moorish sovereign citizens}}

In the early 1980s, [[Gordon Kahl]], a former [[Posse Comitatus (organization)|Posse Comitatus]] member, helped radicalize sovereign citizen anti-government rhetoric. Kahl considered the government not only illegitimate but actively hostile to Americans' interests. After Kahl was killed in 1983 during a [[shootout]] with law enforcement, the movement considered him a martyr, which helped disseminate his views.<ref name="ascendant"/>

The movement garnered more support during the [[1980s farm crisis|American farm crisis]] of the late 1970s and 1980s, which coincided with a general financial crisis in the U.S. and Canada.<ref name=kent2015/> The farm crisis saw the rise of anti-government protesters selling fraudulent [[debt relief]] programs,<ref>{{Citation |last=Miller |first=Joshua Rhett |title=Sovereign citizen movement rejects gov't with tactics ranging from mischief to violence |date=January 5, 2014 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/sovereign-citizen-movement-rejects-govt-with-tactics-ranging-from-mischief-to-violence |work=Fox News |access-date=June 22, 2020}}</ref> some of whom were associated with far-right groups. They included Roger Elvick,<ref>{{citation |first=Keith|last=Schneider|title= Economics, Hate and the Farm Crisis |work = The New York Times|date=December 7, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/07/us/economics-hate-and-the-farm-crisis.html|access-date= 2022-12-18}}</ref> a member of a successor organization of the Posse Comitatus. Elvick conceived the [[redemption movement|redemption]] methods, a set of fraudulent debt and tax payment schemes<ref>{{cite book |last1=Atkins |first1=Stephen E. |author-link=Stephen E. Atkins |title=Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism In Modern American History |date=13 September 2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-351-4 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wf6-K_uVs8QC&dq=Posse+comitatus+redemption+movement&pg=PA205 |access-date=12 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref> that became part of sovereign citizen ideology.<ref name="spl4">{{citation |title= The Sovereigns: A Dictionary of the Peculiar |work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date= August 1, 2010 |url= https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2010/sovereigns-dictionary-peculiar|access-date= 2022-01-20}}</ref>

As the Posse Comitatus movement evolved, its members created pseudolegal bodies that claimed to speak with the authority of "natural law" or "common law" and to supersede the government's legal system. The most common tactic of these "common law courts" was to issue [[false lien]]s against their enemies' property.<ref name="ascendant"/>

After the 1995 [[Oklahoma City bombing]], one perpetrator of which adhered to sovereign citizen ideology, observers categorized the Posse Comitatus as far-right extremism, sidelining the tax protester aspect. Around the end of the decade, the term "Posse Comitatus" was supplanted by the term "sovereign citizen". This mirrored a change in the language adherents used, which reflected their increased focus on personal liberty secured through absolute ownership of personal property.<ref name="ascendant"/>

In 1996, the case of the [[Montana Freemen]] attracted public attention to the sovereign citizen movement. The Montana Freemen were [[Christian Patriot]] sovereign citizens and direct ideological descendants of the Posse Comitatus:<ref name="carey"/> they used false liens to harass public officials<ref>{{citation |title= Montana Freemen Trial May Mark End of an Era|work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date= June 15, 1998 |url= https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/1998/montana-freemen-trial-may-mark-end-era|access-date=2024-03-30}}</ref> and committed [[bank fraud]] with [[counterfeiting|counterfeit]] checks and money orders.<ref>Tom Kenworthy and Serge F. Kovaleski "`Freemen' Finally Taxed the Patience of Federal Government". ''Washington Post''. March 31, 1996.</ref> The group surrendered in June 1996 after 81 days of armed standoff with the FBI.<ref>{{cite news|last=Goldberg|first=Carey|title=Last of Freemen Surrender to F.B.I. at Montana Site |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/14/us/last-of-freemen-surrender-to-fbi-at-montana-site.html|access-date=21 June 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=June 14, 1996}}</ref> Several members of the Montana Freemen received long prison sentences. The group's leader, LeRoy M. Schweitzer, died in prison in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/ci_18941657 |title=Supermax inmate, 72, found dead ''Canon City (CO) Daily Record – September 21, 2011'' |date=21 September 2011 |publisher=Canoncitydailyrecord.com |access-date=2012-06-13}}</ref>

Over time, the movement expanded beyond its original [[White nationalism|white nationalist]] environment to people of all backgrounds.<ref name="SeattleTimes"/> By the 1990s, sovereign citizen arguments had been adopted by [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|minority]] groups, notably the African American [[Moorish sovereign citizens|Moorish sovereigns]].<ref name="SPLC2019" /><ref name="Cash" /> The Moorish sovereigns' beliefs derive, in part, from the [[Moorish Science Temple of America]], which has condemned this sovereign citizen offshoot.<ref name="SPLC2019" />

Since the 1990s, the number of African American sovereign citizens has increased substantially. Various Black sovereign citizen groups have appeared, some [[Islam]]ic, others adhering to [[New Age]] philosophies.<ref name="adl" /> Sovereign citizen ideas have also been adopted by some groups within the [[Hawaiian sovereignty movement]]<ref name="Laird2014" /> and various other fringe political or religious groups, such as [[black separatism|black separatists]] or the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]].<ref name="adl"/>

American [[pseudolaw]] became well-established by 2000. Notably, Elvick conceived the [[strawman theory]] around that time; it became a core sovereign citizen concept, as it gave an overarching explanation to the movement's pseudolegal beliefs.<ref name="furiouspaper"/>

===Spread===
{{see also|Freeman on the land movement}}
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, sovereign citizen ideology was introduced into Canada and then gradually into other countries<ref name="furiouspaper"/> as the advent of the [[Internet]] facilitated communication between people sharing the same ideas.<ref name=kent2015/> One influential American "guru" who helped spread sovereign citizen ideology abroad was Winston Shrout, who held seminars in Canada (until he was banned from the country), Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.<ref name="ADLShrout">{{cite web|url=https://sandiego.adl.org/winston-shrout-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-sovereign-citizen-guru/|access-date=2018-09-08|title=Winston Shrout: The rise and fall of a sovereign citizen guru|date=March 22, 2016|website=Anti-Defamation League San Diego}}</ref>

In Canada, sovereign citizen beliefs mixed with local tax protester concepts during the 2000s and gave birth to an offshoot, the [[freeman on the land movement]], which eventually spread to other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries.<ref name="lawless ones"/>
[[File:Cliven & Ammon Bundy (14742520503).jpg|thumb|left|[[Cliven Bundy|Cliven]] and [[Ammon Bundy]], two American activists who became associated with the sovereign citizen movement during the 2010s]]
Since the late 2000s, the sovereign citizen movement has significantly expanded in the U.S. due to the [[Great Recession]] and more specifically the [[Subprime mortgage crisis|mortgage crisis]].<ref name="lawless ones">{{Citation |title=The Lawless Ones: The Resurgence of the Sovereign Citizen Movement |url=https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/Lawless-Ones-2012-Edition-WEB-final.pdf |year=2012 |edition=2nd |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |access-date=June 19, 2020}}</ref><ref name="ascendant"/><ref name="Netolitzky2019">{{cite journal |last1=Netolitzky |first1=Donald J. |title=After the Hammer: Six Years of Meads v. Meads |journal=Alberta Law Review |date=17 July 2019 |page=1167 |doi=10.29173/alr2548 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rush |first=Curtis |title=Sovereign citizen movement: OPP is watching |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/09/05/sovereign_citizen_movement_opp_is_watching.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620203146/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/09/05/sovereign_citizen_movement_opp_is_watching.html |archive-date=June 20, 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2015 |website=[[Toronto Star]]|date=September 5, 2013 }}</ref> In 2010, the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) estimated that 100,000 Americans were "hard-core sovereign believers", with another 200,000 "just starting out by testing sovereign techniques for resisting everything from speeding tickets to drug charges".<ref>MacNab, J.J. [http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/fall/sovereign-citizen-kane {{"'}}Sovereign' Citizen Kane"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113091425/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/fall/sovereign-citizen-kane |date=January 13, 2011 }}. ''Intelligence Report''. Issue 139. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2010.</ref> According to another SPLC estimate, the number of sovereign citizen-influenced militia groups in the U.S. increased dramatically between 2008 and 2011, from 149 to 1,274.<ref name="ontherise"/>

Incidents such as the 2003 [[2003 standoff in Abbeville, South Carolina|Abbeville standoff]], the 2007 [[Edward and Elaine Brown|Edward and Elaine Brown standoff]], the 2010 [[2010 West Memphis police shootings|West Memphis police shootings]], the 2014 [[Bundy standoff]], the 2016 [[occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge|Malheur Refuge occupation]] (also involving the Bundy family), the 2016 [[2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers|Baton Rouge police shootings]], and the 2021 [[Wakefield standoff]] (involving African-American [[Moorish sovereign citizens|Moorish]] sovereign citizens) attracted significant media attention. In 2022, the trial of the [[Waukesha Christmas parade attack]]'s perpetrator brought the movement further attention, as the defendant used sovereign citizen arguments during the proceedings.<ref name="CBS58">{{cite web |last1=Jacobo |first1=Victor |title=What is a sovereign citizen and how is Darrell Brooks using that argument in his trial? |url=https://www.cbs58.com/news/what-is-a-sovereign-citizen-and-how-is-darrell-brooks-using-that-argument-in-his-trial |website=CBS58 News |access-date=22 October 2022 |date=5 October 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Police blocking Main St access in Waukesha Wisconsin parade.jpg|thumb|The site of the 2021 [[Waukesha Christmas parade attack]], a violent crime linked to the sovereign citizen movement]]
There is significant overlap between the sovereign citizen and [[QAnon]] movements.<ref name="SPLC2022"/> A sovereign citizen group known as the Oath Enforcers attracted QAnon and [[Donald Trump]] supporters into the movement after the [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 6, 2021 |title=How the far-right group 'Oath Enforcers' plans to harass political enemies |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/06/far-right-group-oath-enforcers |access-date=April 6, 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] reported that the sovereign citizen movement was attracting a growing number of QAnon adherents, whose belief in the illegitimacy of the [[Biden administration]] is compatible with the sovereign citizens' broader anti-government views.<ref name="sovereign-citizen-ideology">{{cite web|date=January 19, 2022|title=Sovereign Citizen Ideology Increasingly Seeping into QAnon|publisher=Anti-Defamation League |url= https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/sovereign-citizen-ideology-increasingly-seeping-qanon|access-date=July 13, 2022}}</ref>

Videos of people attempting to use sovereign citizen-style arguments during [[traffic stop]]s, in [[courtroom]]s, and in other public places are common on the Internet, where they are often considered a source of amusement. Researcher Christine Sarteschi has said that this may cause people to underestimate the movement's potential for violence and its links with criminal conduct. Several people charged with crimes such as [[murder]] or [[sexual assault]] have used sovereign citizen arguments as attempts to negate the court's jurisdiction over them.<ref name="NYLawJournal">{{citation |title= The Growing Danger of Sovereign Citizens|work=New York Law Journal|date=January 27, 2022|first1=Christine M. |last1=Sarteschi|url=https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2022/01/27/the-growing-danger-of-sovereign-citizens/?slreturn=20220529105917|access-date= 2022-06-29}}</ref>

The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] has accelerated the movement's spread. Sovereign citizens have been associated with the broader [[Mask refusal|anti-mask]] and [[Anti-vaccine activism|anti-vaccine]] movements and taken part in [[Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic|anti‐restriction protests]].<ref>{{citation|title=Anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers and the sovereign citizen movement|work=New York Daily News|date=August 14, 2021|url=https://www.tribpub.com/gdpr/nydailynews.com/|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=August 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813153626/https://www.tribpub.com/gdpr/nydailynews.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= Anti-vax protests: 'Sovereign citizens' fight UK Covid vaccine rollout|work= |publisher = BBC|date=January 18, 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/59870550 |access-date= 2022-01-18}}</ref><ref name="UKonnotice">{{citation |title=Putting the UK on notice: How US legal fiction inspired aggressive action from UK anti-vaxxers|work = The Independent|date=October 31, 2021 |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sovereign-citizens-uk-antivaxxers-b1947186.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sovereign-citizens-uk-antivaxxers-b1947186.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date= 2022-01-24}}</ref> An increase in sovereign citizens has been observed in Australia and the United Kingdom during the pandemic.<ref name="UKonnotice"/><ref>{{citation |title= The rise of 'sovereign people' and why they argue laws don't apply to them|work= |publisher = sbs.com.au|date=August 13, 2021 |url= https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/the-rise-of-sovereign-people-and-why-they-argue-laws-don-t-apply-to-them|access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= COVID-19 is accelerating the rise of conspiracy and sovereign citizen movements in Australia|work= |publisher = abc.net.au|date=August 20, 2021 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-21/covid-19-accelerating-rise-of-conspiracy-movements-in-australia/100393666|access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref> Several COVID-related incidents involving local sovereign citizens who refused to follow sanitary measures were also reported in [[Singapore]].<ref>{{citation |title= 'I'm a sovereign': Singapore woman who refused to wear face mask cites radical US movement |work=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=5 May 2020|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3082883/im-sovereign-singapore-woman-who-refused-wear-face-mask|access-date= 2022-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= 'Sovereign' citizen accused of failing to wear mask found to be fit to follow court proceedings |work=[[The Straits Times]]|date=27 October 2022|url= https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/sovereign-citizen-accused-of-failing-to-wear-mask-found-to-be-fit-to-follow-court-proceedings|access-date= 2022-11-18}}</ref> In June 2022, Sarteschi reported that the movement was rapidly expanding and could now be found in 26 countries.<ref name="conversationsarteschi"/>

===Government response===

==== United States ====
After the 1995 [[Oklahoma City bombing]], [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|U.S. federal law enforcement]] began cracking down on white supremacist groups, including sovereign citizen organizations. The [[Montana Freemen]] incident occurred in that context.<ref name="carey"/> The bombing also led Congress to pass the [[Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996]], enhancing sentences for certain terrorism-related offenses.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carlin |first=John P. |date=October 14, 2015 |title=Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin Delivers Remarks on Domestic Terrorism at an Event Co-Sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security's Program on Extremism |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice News |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/assistant-attorney-general-john-p-carlin-delivers-remarks-domestic-terrorism-event-co |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015140318/http://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/assistant-attorney-general-john-p-carlin-delivers-remarks-domestic-terrorism-event-co |archive-date=October 15, 2015}}</ref>

Hundreds, if not thousands, of sovereign citizens have been imprisoned as a result of their actions. Many have continued their activities behind bars, often spreading their ideologies among other inmates.<ref name="adl"/>

As of the 1990s, several hundred people involved in "common law courts" operated by sovereign citizens or, more broadly, by the [[Patriot movement]] have been arrested for crimes such as fraud, [[Police impersonation|impersonating police]], intimidating or threatening officials, and in some cases, outright violence. In 1998, a number of U.S. states passed laws outlawing the activities of these "courts" or strengthening existing sanctions.<ref name="splc98"/>

To prevent their courts from being burdened by frivolous litigation, some states have heightened penalties for people who file baseless motions. Some courts choose to impose pre-filing injunctions against certain [[Pro se legal representation in the United States|''pro se'']] serial litigants, to preclude them from filing new lawsuits or documents without prior leave.<ref name="wastingtime"/>

After incidents such as the [[2010 West Memphis police shootings]], [[Law enforcement in the United States|U.S. law enforcement agencies]] advised officers on how to deal with sovereign citizens at traffic stops and elsewhere.<ref name="police1"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Finch & Flowers|title=Sovereign Citizens: A Clear and Present Danger|url=http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2012/09/sovereign-citizens-a-clear-and-present-danger.aspx|website=Police Magazine|date=September 20, 2012 |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

==== Australia ====
In Australia, after the 2022 [[Wieambilla police shootings|Wieambilla shootings]], the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] and the [[Australian Federal Police]] indicated they would examine the groups more closely as their beliefs increasingly align with that of other extremists, with the AFP Joint Counter Terrorism Team now required to undergo training on sovereign citizen threats.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sibthorpe |first=Clare |date=2023-12-22 |title='Moving towards violence': Authorities alert to radicalised sovereign citizens |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/moving-towards-violence-authorities-alert-to-radicalised-sovereign-citizens-20231116-p5ekh0.html |url-access=subscription |access-date= |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McHugh |first=Finn |date=3 February 2023 |title='The threat is real': Lone wolf danger on the rise as ASIO targets sovereign citizens movement |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-threat-is-real-lone-wolf-danger-on-the-rise-as-asio-targets-sovereign-citizens-movement/perdddraq |access-date= |website=[[SBS News]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Denominations and symbols ==
[[File:United States "civil" flag (used by sovereign citizens).svg|thumb|A variation of the U.S. flag frequently used in the sovereign citizen movement.<ref name="sovcitflag"/>]]
Not all members of the movement call themselves "sovereign citizens", and some regard the term as an oxymoron.<ref name="SeattleTimes">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Sarah Jean |date=June 23, 2022 |title=Fall City extremist's eviction throws spotlight on sovereign citizen movement |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/eviction-of-wa-anti-government-extremist-gives-window-into-sovereign-citizen-movement/ |publisher=[[The Seattle Times]]|access-date= 2022-11-17}}</ref> Sovereign citizens may prefer to call themselves "state nationals",<ref name="reitz"/> "constitutionalists", "freemen",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker|first=Chris |title=Sovereign Movement Is Anti-Government, Off the Grid....and Gunning for Justice |url=https://www.westword.com/news/sovereign-movement-is-off-the-grid-anti-government-and-gunning-for-justice-in-colorado-9085265 |date=May 23, 2017 |website=Westword}}</ref> "natural people", "living people",<ref name="living"/> "private persons",<ref name="dallasnews">{{Cite web |last=Krause |first=Kevin |date=Mar 26, 2021 |title='Sovereign citizens' allegedly filed $3 million fake award against Tarrant judges to harass them |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2021/03/26/sovereign-citizens-allegedly-filed-3-million-fake-award-against-tarrant-judges-to-harass-them/ |access-date=December 16, 2022 |publisher=[[The Dallas Morning News]]}}</ref> "secured party creditors",<ref name="policeasn">{{Cite web | date=July 29, 2024 |title=American State Nationals: The newest group of sovereign citizens |url=https://www.police1.com/sovereign-citizens/american-state-nationals-the-newest-group-of-sovereign-citizens|access-date=February 10, 2025 |website=police1.com}}</ref> or people "seeking the truth"<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacNab |first=J.J. |date=February 13, 2012 |title=What is a Sovereign Citizen? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2012/02/13/what-is-a-sovereign-citizen/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729214003/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2012/02/13/what-is-a-sovereign-citizen/2/ |archive-date=July 29, 2017 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> or "living on the land".<ref name="dallasnews" /> The name "American State National"<ref name="sovereign-citizen-ideology"/> (ASN) became popular among sovereign citizens in the early 2020s, especially among followers of the [[QAnon]] conspiracy theory.<ref name="policeasn"/><ref name="SovcitQanon">{{citation |title=Sovereign Citizens and QAnon: The Increasing Overlaps with a Focus on Child Protective Service (CPS) Cases |work=International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM) |date=May 21, 2023|first1=Christine M. |last1=Sarteschi|url=https://www.ijcam.org/articles/sovereign-citizens-and-qanon|access-date= 2023-05-24}}</ref>

The sovereign citizen movement has no single universally accepted symbol or emblem, but sovereign citizen documents and signs often have distinctive identifying marks. Some of the most common ones are [[postage stamp]]s and [[thumbprint]]s on documents, and the addition of [[punctuation]] ([[dash]]es, [[hyphen]]s, [[Colon (punctuation)|colons]] or [[comma]]s) to one's name, which sovereign citizens [[#Documents_and_formalities|believe has a legal effect]].<ref name="sovcitflag">{{citation |title= Learn to Spot the Secret Signals of Far-Right 'Sovereign Citizens|work= |publisher =Vice.com|date=May 1, 2018 |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/learn-to-spot-the-secret-signals-of-far-right-sovereign-citizens/|access-date= 2023-05-30}}</ref> 

Groups such as [[Moorish sovereign citizens|Moorish sovereigns]] and the [[Washitaw Nation]] have their own specific flags and symbols. Some sovereign citizens use references to nonexistent "Republics" or to the [[Uniform Commercial Code]] (UCC), variations on the [[flag of the United States]], or religious symbols such as that of the [[Vatican City|Vatican]], which are thought to establish "sovereignty".<ref name="ndsaa">{{citation |title= Indicators of Sovereign Ideology. A Basic Guide for Law Enforcement|work=ndsaa.org |publisher =North Dakota State Attorney Association|url= http://www.ndsaa.org/image/cache/Indicators_of_Sovereign_Ideology.pdf |access-date= 2023-05-31}}</ref>

One common symbol of the American sovereign citizen movement is a version of the U.S. flag with alternate colors and vertical stripes. Sometimes known as "the flag of peace" or "Title Four flag", it is based on a flag allegedly used by [[United States Customs Service|American custom houses]] for a brief period during the 19th century. Around the 2000s, some sovereign citizens began to claim that this is the true flag of the United States.<ref name="sovcitflag"/>

== Theories ==
{{main|Pseudolaw}}
{{see also|Constitutionalism|Tax protester arguments|Tax protester conspiracy arguments|Tax protester constitutional arguments}} 
{{Tax protest in the United States}}
The movement has no defining text, established doctrine, or centralized leadership,<ref name="wastingtime"/><ref name="roads">{{Cite magazine |last=Huffman |first=John Pearley |date=January 6, 2020 |title=Sovereign Citizens Take Their Anti-Government Philosophy to the Roads |url=https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a30281693/sovereign-citizen-right-to-travel/ |magazine=Car and Driver |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106215830/https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a30281693/sovereign-citizen-right-to-travel/ |archive-date=January 6, 2020 |access-date=May 1, 2020}}</ref> but there are common themes, generally implying that the legitimate government and legal system have been somehow replaced and that the current authorities are illegitimate. [[Tax]]es and [[license]]s are likewise thought to be illegitimate. A number of leaders, commonly called "gurus", develop their own variations.<ref name="wastingtime"/><ref name="lawless ones"/> The movement's theories include influences from a variety of sources, some of them decades old, resulting in often confusing and incoherent narratives of U.S. history.<ref name="GWedu">{{citation |title= Without Prejudice: What Sovereign Citizens Believe |work= |publisher= George Washington University |first1= JM |last1= Berger |author-link=J.M. Berger |date= June 2016 |url= https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/downloads/JMB%20Sovereign%20Citizens.pdf|access-date= 2024-04-01 }}</ref>

Sovereign citizens' legal theories reinterpret the [[Constitution of the United States]] through selective reading of law dictionaries (notably an obsolete version of [[Black's Law Dictionary]]), [[State court (United States)|state court]] opinions, or specific capitalization, and incorporate other details from a variety of sources, including the [[Uniform Commercial Code]], the [[Articles of Confederation]], the [[Magna Carta]], the [[Bible]], and foreign treaties. They ignore the second clause of [[Article Six of the United States Constitution|Article VI]] of the Constitution (the [[Supremacy Clause]]), which establishes the Constitution as the law of the land and the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] as the ultimate authority to interpret it.<ref name="MLR">{{cite journal |last1=Kalinowski |first1=Caesar |title=A Legal Response to the Sovereign Citizen Movement |journal=Montana Law Review |date=1 August 2019 |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=153–210 |url=https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mlr/vol80/iss2/2/ }}</ref><ref name="LEB">{{Citation |title=Sovereign Citizens: A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement |date=September 1, 2011 |url=https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/sovereign-citizens-a-growing-domestic-threat-to-law-enforcement |work=FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin |access-date=May 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The Sovereign Citizen Movement: A Comparative Analysis with Similar Foreign Movements and Takeaways for the United States Judicial System Judicial System|date= 2011 |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1257&context=eilr |work=Emory International Law Review Emory International Law Review, Volume 34, Issue 2 |access-date=24 January 2022 |first1=Mellie |last1=Ligon}}</ref> Most consider [[county sheriff]]s the most powerful law enforcement officers in the country, with authority superior to that of any federal agent, elected official, or other local law enforcement official.<ref name="ForbesIII">{{Cite web |last=MacNab |first=JJ |title=Context Matters: The Cliven Bundy Standoff – Part 3 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2014/05/06/context-matters-the-cliven-bundy-standoff-part-3/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507032039/http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2014/05/06/context-matters-the-cliven-bundy-standoff-part-3/ |archive-date=May 7, 2014 |access-date=May 6, 2014 |website=Forbes}}</ref>

===Illegitimacy of laws and government===
{{see also|Anti-statism}}
A widespread belief among sovereign citizens is that the [[State (polity)|state]] is not an actual government, but a [[corporation]]. American movement members believe that the corporation that purports to be the U.S. federal government is illegally controlling the republic via a territorial government in Washington, D.C.<ref name="reitz">{{citation |title= Interview with a sovereign: Judge Anna's world|work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date=December 15, 2017 |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/12/15/interview-sovereign-judge-anna%E2%80%99s-world |access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref> 

Sovereign citizens believe that sometime after the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] set up the government, [[commercial law]] secretly replaced common law. This commercial law is generally understood to be [[admiralty law]], as sovereign citizens believe the current, illegitimate law is based on principles of [[International trade|international commerce]].<ref name="GWedu"/><ref name="SPLC2022"/> Sovereign citizens also claim that the [[Flag of the United States#Decoration|gold fringes]] on U.S. flags displayed in courtrooms is evidence that admiralty law is in effect.<ref name="spl4"/> This leads them to believe that U.S. judges and lawyers are actually agents of a foreign power,<ref name="SPLC2022"/> typically thought to be the [[United Kingdom]]: one pseudolegal conspiracy theory claims that [[Bar (law)|bar]] is an acronym for "British Accreditation Registry".<ref name="SovcitQanon"/>

Sovereign citizens therefore challenge the validity of the contemporary legal system and claim to answer only to [[Divine law|God's law]] or to common law, by which they mean the system that supposedly existed before the conspiracy.<ref name="Laird2014"/>

There is no consensus among sovereign citizens as to when the secret change of the political and legal system took place; some believe it was during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], while others date it to 1933, when the U.S. abandoned the [[gold standard]].<ref name="SPLC2022"/> According to one version, the vehicle for the change was the [[District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871]], which sovereign citizens believe created a "United States corporation" to govern the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] under commercial code; this form of corporate rule then extended to the entire country.<ref name="GWedu"/> Another theory has it that the country was secretly reorganized as a [[post office]] in 1789.<ref name="millions"/> Pseudolegal schemes attribute a particular power to the [[Universal Postal Union]]<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/> and to the use of [[postage stamp]]s on legal documents.<ref name="millions"/><ref name="Netolitzky2018"/>

The beliefs that the government is a corporation and that people are secretly under a form of commercial law leads sovereign citizens to believe that [[statutory law]] is a [[contract of adhesion|contract]] binding people to the state. According to this theory, people are tricked into this contract by various methods, including [[Social Security number]]s, [[fishing license]]s, or [[ZIP Code]]s: thus, avoiding their use means immunity from government authority.<ref name="Knight2003">{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMIDrggs8TsC&pg=PA334 |title=Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57607-812-9 |page=334}}</ref><ref name="ValeriBorgeson2018">{{Cite book |last1=Valeri |first1=Robin Maria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dX1aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT145 |title=Terrorism in America |last2=Borgeson |first2=Kevin |year= 2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-315-45599-0 |page=145}}</ref><ref name="SeattleTimes"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fleishman |first=David |date=Spring 2004 |title=Paper Terrorism: The Impact of the 'Sovereign Citizen' on Local Government |journal=The Public Law Journal |volume=27 |issue=2}}</ref> Another common belief among sovereign citizens is that they can opt out of the purported contract, making themselves immune from the laws they do not wish to follow, by declining to "consent": when confronted by police officers or other officials, sovereign citizens typically attempt to negate their authority by saying, "I do not consent".<ref name="living"/>

Many sovereign citizens believe that the [[Uniform Commercial Code]], which provides an interstate standard for documents that they believe apply only to their straw man, is a codification of the illegitimate commercial law ruling the United States. Therefore, they think that exploiting supposed loopholes in the UCC will help them assert their rights or invoke their special privileges and powers as "common law citizens".<ref name="GWedu"/>

Adherents of the "American State National" concept believe that, through a specific procedure, they can renounce federal citizenship, make themselves immune from jurisdiction and arrest, avoid the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]], and rescind voting registrations, marriages, or birth certificates. In March 2023, Chase Allan, a man who subscribed to this notion and used a false passport and an illegal license plate, was shot dead by police at a traffic stop in [[Utah]] during a confrontation with officers over his refusal to show an identification document.<ref name="SovcitQanon"/><ref name="policeasn"/>

The belief that the current legal system is illegitimate has led some sovereign citizens to consider themselves "above the law" and commit crimes.<ref name="NYLawJournal"/>

===Citizenship===
{{see also|Self-ownership}}
[[File:Citizen of Heaven (30647136760).jpg|thumb|American activist David Zion Brugger, showing an irregular "[[identity document]]" asserting him to be a "[[embassy of Heaven|citizen of Heaven]]"]]
American sovereign citizens posit that contemporary [[Citizenship of the United States|United States citizenship]] is somehow defective or fraudulent and that it curtails citizens' legitimate rights. Some sovereign citizens also claim that they can become immune to most or all laws of the United States by [[Relinquishment of United States nationality|renouncing citizenship]] in a "federal corporation" and declaring themselves citizens only of the [[U.S. state|state]] where they reside: this process, which they call "expatriation", involves [[Filing (law)|filing]] or delivering a nonlegal document claiming their renunciation of citizenship to any county clerk's office that can be convinced to accept it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morton |first=Tom |date=April 17, 2011 |title=Sovereign citizens renounce first sentence of 14th Amendment |work=[[Casper Star-Tribune]] |url=http://trib.com/news/local/casper/sovereign-citizens-renounce-first-sentence-of-th-amendment/article_a5d0f966-7ed0-549f-a066-b1b2c91f9489.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121140213/http://trib.com/news/local/casper/sovereign-citizens-renounce-first-sentence-of-th-amendment/article_a5d0f966-7ed0-549f-a066-b1b2c91f9489.html |archive-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref>

In the 1970s, one of the movement's originators, [[white supremacist]] ideologue [[William Potter Gale]], identified the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] as the act that converted "sovereign citizens" into "federal citizens" by their agreement to a contract to accept benefits from the federal government. Other commentators have identified other acts, including the [[Emergency Banking Act]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Kermit |title=The Oxford Companion to American Law |last2=Clark |first2=David Scott |year=2002}}</ref> and the alleged suppression of the [[Titles of Nobility Amendment]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=William C. |date=November 1996 |title=The Law According to Barefoot Bob |journal=[[ABA Journal]]|volume=82 |page=112 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/abaj82&div=270&id=&page=}}</ref>

Likewise, sovereign citizen leader Richard McDonald claimed that there are two classes of citizens in the U.S.: the "original citizens of the states" (also called "states citizens" or "organic citizens")<ref name="spl6">{{citation |title= What is a 'Sovereign Citizen'? |work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date=November 30, 2008 |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/what-sovereign-citizen |access-date= 2022-01-20}}</ref> and "U.S. citizens". According to McDonald, U.S. citizens, whom he calls "Fourteenth Amendment citizens", have civil rights, legislated to give the rights to freed black slaves after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]: this benefit is received by consent in exchange for freedom. On the other hand, white state citizens have unalienable constitutional rights. On this view, state citizens must take steps to revoke and rescind their U.S. citizenship and reassert their ''[[de jure]]'' common-law state citizen status. This involves removing oneself from [[Federal jurisdiction (United States)|federal jurisdiction]] and relinquishing any evidence of consent to U.S. citizenship, such as a [[Social Security number]], [[Driver's licenses in the United States|driver's license]], [[Motor vehicle registration|car registration]], [[ZIP Code]], [[marriage license]], [[Voter registration in the United States|voter registration]], or [[birth certificate]]. Also included is the refusal to pay state and federal income taxes because citizens not under U.S. jurisdiction are not required to pay them.<ref name="Feucht">{{Cite web |last=Feucht |first=Dennis |date=June 1997 |title=Essay Review of AMERICAN MILITIAS: Rebellion, Racism & Religion |url=http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1997/PSCF6-97Feucht.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923174413/http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1997/PSCF6-97Feucht.html |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |access-date=September 4, 2014 |website=[[Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith]] |publisher=[[American Scientific Affiliation]] |pages=116–118}}</ref>

The concept of "14th Amendment citizens" is consistent with the movement's white supremacist origins in that it can cause adherents to believe that [[African Americans]], having become citizens only after the Civil War, have far fewer rights than [[White Americans|Whites]],<ref name="spl6"/> or that only [[Black people]] have to pay federal taxes and abide by federal laws.<ref name="reitz"/>

On the contrary, "[[Moorish sovereign citizens|Moorish]]" sovereign citizens think that African Americans constitute an elite class within American society, with special rights and privileges that make them immune from federal and state authority. They commonly adopt "Africanized" version of their names by adding "el", "Bey", or a combination of the two, and associate themselves with a particular "Moorish" group, claiming they are not culpable for acts committed under their former name and that their affiliation makes them immune to prosecution.<ref name="SPLC2019"/><ref>{{Citation |title='Moorish Defense' Slowing Court Cases in Mecklenburg |date=July 19, 2011 |url=https://www.wsoctv.com/news/moorish-defense-slowing-court-cases-in-mecklenburg/222970704/ |publisher=[[WSOC-TV]] |access-date=April 30, 2020}}</ref> The underpinnings of their theories of exemption vary. One belief is that the "Moors" were America's original inhabitants and are therefore entitled to be self-governing. They claim to be descendants of the Moroccan "Moors" and thus subject to the 1786 [[Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship]], which they believe gives them exemption from U.S. law. A variation of "Moorish" ideology is found in the [[Washitaw Nation]], which claims rights through provisions in the [[Louisiana Purchase]] treaty granting privileges to Moors as early colonists and the nonexistent "United Nations Indigenous People's Seat 215".<ref name="SPLC2019" /> Various other groups claim special status and exemption from their countries' laws by purporting to belong to real or imaginary ethnic minorities.<ref name="adl"/>

Sovereign citizens may claim that their status in the United States is that of "non-resident aliens".<ref name="spl6"/> Only residents (resident aliens) of the states, not its citizens, are income-taxable, sovereign citizens argue. And as a state citizen landowner, one can bring forward the original land patent and file it with the county for absolute or [[Allodial title|allodial property rights]]. Such allodial ownership is held "without recognizing any superior to whom any duty is due on account thereof" (''[[Black's Law Dictionary]]''). Superiors include those who levy property taxes or who hold mortgages or liens against the property.<ref name="Feucht"/>

===Dual personas===
{{main|Strawman theory}}
One recurring idea in sovereign citizen ideology is that individuals have two personas, one of flesh and blood and the other a separate, secret, [[legal person]]ality (commonly called the "straw man"), created upon each person's birth, which is subject to the government. Sovereign citizens claim it is possible to dissociate oneself from the "straw man" by certain procedures, thus becoming free of all debts, liabilities and legal constraints.<ref name="furiouspaper"/><ref name=NYT82313 /><ref name="spl4"/><ref name="millions"/>

===Economics===
{{see also|Redemption movement}}
Sovereign citizen texts often posit that "international bankers" are at the source of the conspiracy that replaced the United States' legitimate government and legal system. In the movement's earlier form, these bankers were explicitly said to be [[Jews]]. While this can still be implied in sovereign citizen literature, the movement's original [[Antisemitic trope|antisemitic conspiracy theories]] were diluted over time; most contemporary sovereign citizens tend to present greatly simplified versions of them, with no mention of Jewish conspiracies and only vague references to corrupt bankers.<ref name="GWedu"/>

Some sovereign citizens believe that the United States "corporation" is [[Bankruptcy|bankrupt]]. This is often attributed to the 1933 abandonment of the gold standard.<ref name="GWedu"/> As a result, the illegitimate U.S. government is said to secretly use its citizens as [[Collateralized debt obligation|collateral]] against [[National debt of the United States|foreign debt]], effectively enslaving Americans. Sovereign citizens believe that this sale of American citizens takes place at birth, through the issuance of [[birth certificate]]s and [[Social Security number]]s.<ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="GWedu"/><ref name="millions">{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Jennifer |title=Why some far-right extremists think red ink can force the government to give them millions |date=9 February 2016 |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/2/9/10942860/sovereign-citizens-movement |work=Vox |access-date=August 18, 2020}}</ref>

The sovereign citizen movement overlaps with the [[redemption movement]] (also known as "A4V" after one of its schemes), which claims that a secret bank account is created for every citizen at birth as part of the process whereby the U.S. government uses its citizens as collateral.<ref name="Netolitzky2018">{{cite journal |last=Netolitzky |first=Donald J. |title=Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Arguments as Magic and Ceremony |journal=[[Alberta Law Review]] |year=2018 |page=1045 |doi=10.29173/alr2485 |s2cid=158051933 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="millions"/> Several prominent sovereign citizens have advocated redemption schemes.<ref name="adl"/> The belief in a secret bank account is intertwined with the [[strawman theory]], since each person's fund is supposedly associated with their "straw man".<ref name="adl"/><ref name="GWedu"/>

"Redemption" theories assert that the vast sums of money in this account can be reclaimed through certain procedures, and applied to financial obligations or even criminal charges.<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="millions"/> In some variations of this theory, the secret fund may be called a "Cestui Que Vie Trust".<ref name="SovcitQanon"/> 

Pseudolegal economic theories also imply various misconceptions about currencies and financial institutions, for instance, that a borrower has no obligation to repay bank loans if the bank loans out more money than it has in reserve (i,e., in its customers' accounts) as this constitutes "creat[ing] money from thin air", and that money is actually worthless when not [[gold standard|backed by gold]].<ref name="furiouspaper"/> Many sovereign citizens do not recognize [[U.S. currency]] and demand payment in [[Gold coin|gold]] or [[Silver coin|silver]] coins.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 8, 2012 |title=Sovereign Citizens: Radicals Exercising 'God-Given Rights' or Fueling Domestic Terrorism? |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/sovereign-citizens-radicals-exercising-god-rights-fueling-domestic/story?id=15876417 |access-date=July 13, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Giordanos">{{Cite news |date=June 11, 2011|last1=Yerak|first1=Becky|last2=Sachdev|first2=Ameet |title=Giordano's strange journey in bankruptcy |publisher=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2011-06-11-ct-biz-0612-giordanos-20110611-story.html |access-date=July 13, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 6, 2012 |title='Sovereign Citizen' Suing State Arrested Over Traffic Stop |url=http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30847368/detail.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410031704/http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30847368/detail.html |archive-date=April 10, 2012 |access-date=April 8, 2012 |publisher=WRTV}}</ref>

Some sovereign citizens also subscribe to the [[NESARA]]-related conspiracy theory.<ref name="SPLC2022"/>

===Freedom of movement===
{{see also|Freedom of movement under United States law}}
[[File:Hyundai Sonata with TRAVELER plate, Denver, CO 2024-12-13.jpg|thumb|Car with an irregular sovereign citizen license plate.]]
Using arguments that rely on exacting definitions and word choice, sovereign citizens may assert a constitutional "right to travel" in a "conveyance", distinguishing it from [[driving]] an automobile in order to justify ignoring requirements for [[Vehicle registration plate|license plates]], [[Motor vehicle registration|vehicle registration]], [[Vehicle insurance|insurances]], and [[driver's license]]s. The right to travel is claimed based on a variety of passages.<ref name="adl"/><ref name="roads"/><ref name="MLR" />

One common argument of sovereign citizens is that they are "traveling" and not "driving" and hence do not need a driver's license because they are not transporting commercial goods or paying passengers.<ref name="SPLC2022"/>

===Other===
{{see also|QAnon}}
Other pseudolegal theories commonly shared by sovereign citizens include that "silence means consent" for any sort of documents, that any claim or alleged statement of fact placed in a sworn document (known in pseudolegal jargon as an "[[affidavit]] of truth") is proven true unless rebutted, and that there is no crime if there is no injured party.<ref name="furiouspaper"/>

Some sovereign citizens are involved in other forms of [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], including [[QAnon]].<ref>{{cite news|date=November 17, 2020|title=Florida QAnon Supporter Shoots Dead Legal Theorist Over Alleged Conspiracy Involving Her Child, Police Say|newspaper=Newsweek|publisher= |url= https://www.newsweek.com/florida-qanon-supporter-shoots-dead-legal-theorist-over-alleged-conspiracy-involving-her-child-1548237|access-date=January 21, 2022}}</ref> Certain subgroups of the movement adhere to theories about [[UFO conspiracy theories|extraterrestrials]] and [[Reptilian conspiracy theory|reptilians]].<ref name="SPLC2022"/> One advocate of sovereign citizen fraudulent [[tax avoidance]] schemes, [[Sean David Morton]], was also active as a [[psychic]] and [[ufology|ufologist]].<ref name="swindle"/> In [[Quebec]], sovereign citizen ideology has been promoted by [[Guylaine Lanctôt]], an [[anti-vaccine activist]] and [[HIV/AIDS denialism|AIDS denialist]].<ref name="dangereuse">{{cite web |date=3 March 2022 |last1=Noël |first1=Brigitte |first2=Laurence |last2=Mathieu-Léger |first3=Michael |last3=Deetjens |title=Une doctrine dangereuse |publisher=Radio Canada |url= https://ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numerique/3688/lanctot-ghis-guylaine-doctrine-dangereuse |access-date=18 July 2022}}</ref>

In 2022, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] reported that sovereign citizen ideology was "increasingly seeping" into QAnon, as the movement's anti-government views were compatible with QAnon's belief in a worldwide "cabal" and in the illegitimacy of the [[Presidency of Joe Biden|Biden administration]].<ref name="sovereign-citizen-ideology"/>

Sovereign citizen groups, notably that led in [[Texas]] by "gurus" David and Bonnie Straight, a married couple, have been convincing parents whose children were removed from their custody that [[Child Protective Services]] engages in [[Trafficking of children|child trafficking]], and encouraging them to kidnap their children.<ref name="NYLawJournal"/><ref name="vice21">{{citation |title=How the Sovereign Citizen Movement Convinces Desperate Parents to Ignore Laws |date=September 9, 2021 |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/sovereign-citizens-movement-attacking-child-protective-services/ |work= |access-date=2022-01-20 |publisher=Vice.com}}</ref><ref name="SovcitQanon"/> The belief that child protection agencies are involved in crimes against children is also consistent with QAnon ideology.<ref name="SovcitQanon"/>

Several sovereign citizen "gurus" have made grandiose claims about the powers granted to them by their pseudolegal schemes. One American ideologue and [[David Wynn Miller#Constructed language and linguistic theories|"Quantum Grammar"]] advocate, Russell Jay Gould, claims that having signed a postal receipt in a specific way and [[Filing (law)|filed]] a document relating to [[Title 4 of the United States Code]], at a moment when the country was supposedly bankrupt, makes him the "Postmaster-General" and legitimate ruler of the United States.<ref name="Cash">{{Cite conference |last=Cash |first=Glen |date=26 May 2022 |url = https://archive.sclqld.org.au/judgepub/2022/cash20220526.pdf|title=A Kind of Magic: The Origins and Culture of 'Pseudolaw'|conference=Queensland Magistrates' State Conference 2022 |access-date=22 October 2022}}</ref> Another American guru, Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf, claimed before her sentencing for fraud to have "[[Foreclosure|foreclosed]]" and "canceled" all banks and governments through [[Uniform Commercial Code|UCC]] filings.<ref name="bostonlawreview">{{citation|last=Barrows|first=Samuel|title=Sovereigns, Freemen, and Desperate Souls: Towards a Rigorous Understanding of Pseudolitigation Tactics in United States Courts |date=March 26, 2021|url=https://dashboard.lira.bc.edu/downloads/bce8fe0f-ec48-4071-941d-a2558a65ce7c |work=Boston Law review|access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref> Likewise, [[Romana Didulo]], a Canadian QAnon conspiracy theorist, uses sovereign citizen concepts to back her claims of being the rightful [[Monarchy of Canada|Queen of Canada]], and eventually the "Queen of the World".<ref name="conversationsarteschi">{{Citation |last=Sarteschi |first=Christine |title=How the self-proclaimed 'Queen of Canada' is causing true harm to her subjects |date=28 June 2022|url=https://theconversation.com/how-the-self-proclaimed-queen-of-canada-is-causing-true-harm-to-her-subjects-185125|work= [[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|access-date=22 October 2022 }}</ref><ref name="RedDeerians">{{Cite news |last=Michelin |first=Lana |date=17 August 2022 |title=The so-called 'Queen of Canada' cannot help Red Deerians avoid paying property taxes |work=Red Deer Advocate |url=https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/the-so-called-queen-of-canada-cannot-help-red-deerians-avoid-paying-property-taxes/ |url-status=live |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826054841/https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/the-so-called-queen-of-canada-cannot-help-red-deerians-avoid-paying-property-taxes/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter |archive-date=26 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=Guar>{{Cite news |last=Cecco |first=Leyland |date=23 August 2022 |title='Queen of Canada': the rapid rise of a fringe QAnon figure sounds alarm |work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/23/queen-of-canada-qanon-rise-conspiracy-alarm |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824104857/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/23/queen-of-canada-qanon-rise-conspiracy-alarm|archive-date=24 August 2022}}</ref>

== Tactics ==
{{see also|Civil disobedience|Civil resistance}}
[[File:"Sovereign Citizen" notice, Belfast (October 2013) (geograph 5824402).jpg|A homemade "[[public notice]]" with pseudolegal language used by a sovereign citizen in [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland|thumb]]
Sovereign citizens may be affiliated with a group within the movement, follow the teachings of a specific "guru", or act entirely on their own. By disobeying rules they consider illegitimate, they regularly find themselves in conflict with all forms of government institutions, most commonly [[law enforcement]], the [[judiciary]], and the [[revenue service]]s.<ref name="adl"/> One sovereign citizen from [[Montana]], Ernie Wayne terTelgte, became a local celebrity in 2013 by engaging in a protracted legal battle with authorities over the need to have a [[fishing license]]<ref name="naturalman">{{cite news|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2014/05/01/montanas-natural-man-defies-courts-sets-another-rural-patriot-showdown|date=May 1, 2014|first=David|last=Neiwert|work= Southern Poverty Law Center|title=Montana's 'Natural Man' Defies Courts, Sets Up Another Rural 'Patriot' Showdown|access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref> and then having multiple conflicts with law enforcement over this matter, as well as his lack of a driver's license.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thewesternnews.com/news/2018/apr/13/natural-man-arraigned-for-assault-on-peace-12/|date=April 13, 2018|first=Benjamin|last=Kibbey|work=[[The Western News]]|title='Natural Man' arraigned for assault on peace officer|access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref>

Sovereign citizens often use flawed or invented legal arguments or irregular documents that may have been bought from other movement members as "proof" of their claims.<ref name="UKonnotice"/> It is common for sovereign citizen "gurus" to earn money by selling their followers standard documents such as template filings, scripts to recite at court appearances, or other "quick-fix" solutions to legal problems.<ref name="wastingtime"/> Some "gurus" sell "how-to" manuals explaining the movement's theories and schemes. One such manual is ''Title 4 Flag Says You're Schwag: The Sovereign Citizen's Handbook'', which has been reprinted and updated several times.<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/>

Sovereign citizens often use an unusual vocabulary<ref name="spl4"/> and twist the meaning of legal terms, or even commonplace phrases, for their convenience.<ref name="polar">{{cite news |url=https://polarjournal.org/2022/08/30/legal-aesthetics-among-american-sovereign-citizens/ |date=30 August 2022 |first=Joseph |last=Moore |work=PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review |title= Legal Aesthetics Among American Sovereign Citizens |access-date=2022-11-18}}</ref> This includes avoiding the use of expressions they think would create "[[joinder]]",<ref name="furiouspaper"/> thus making them enter into a "contract" with the government. For example, when dealing with the police, sovereign citizens will often avoid saying "I understand" and instead say "I comprehend", as they believe that the word "understand" acknowledges that one "stand[s] under the jurisdiction", thus recognizing the police's authority.<ref name="polar"/> 

As they regard themselves as bound only by their own interpretation of common law, sovereign citizens have been setting up [[American militia movement|militias]] of self-appointed "sheriffs",<ref name="NYLawJournal"/> as well as "common law courts", to handle matters regarding movement members. These "courts", which are [[Kangaroo court|devoid of legal authority]], are frequently used to formalize the "declarations of sovereignty" of movement members, in a process often known as "asseveration".<ref name="spl4"/>

Sovereign citizens' conflicts with authorities have occasionally resulted in violence.<ref name="Laird2014"/><ref name="adl"/><ref name="NYLawJournal"/><ref name="ForbesIII"/>

===Documents and formalities===
[[File:For The CLAIMANT'S-KNOWLEDGE of This LIVE-LIFE is with This CLAIMANT..jpg|thumb|Pseudolegal document with typical sovereign citizen formalities, including the subject's thumbprints and DNA samples as well as "[[David Wynn Miller|Quantum Grammar]]" language.]]
Sovereign citizens are known to create their own irregular, pseudolegal documents, including false [[passport]]s, [[license plate]]s, or [[birth certificate]]s.<ref name="Quickguide">{{citation |title="A quick guide to Sovereign Citizens" |author=   |date= November 2013 |work= UNC School of Government|url=https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/www.sog.unc.edu/files/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf |access-date= March 24, 2024}}</ref> Sovereign citizen documents may include unusual formalities, such as [[List of Latin phrases (full)|maxim]]s written in [[Latin]], [[Fingerprint|thumbprints]], or [[Postage stamp|stamps]] in certain places, as well as unconventional, sometimes incomprehensible [[legalese]]. Stamps are generally accompanied by signatures (with the sovereign citizen's name signed across them), initials or other markings.<ref name="wastingtime"/><ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="Meads"/> 

Signatures and thumbprints are likely to be in red ink or blood, since black and blue inks are believed to indicate corporations.<ref name="millions"/> As bonds are canceled using red ink in some U.S. states, sovereign citizens may sign in red ink to signify that they are canceling the bond attached to their birth certificate or to their straw man. Others use red ink because it represents the blood of the "flesh-and-blood person". Other methods to dissociate oneself from the straw man include unusual spelling and writing one's name in a different manner or with [[punctuation]], i.e. "John of the family Doe" instead of "John Doe" or "John-Robert: Doe" instead of "John Robert Doe".<ref name="spl4"/>

Sovereign citizens often add the Latin phrase ''[[Sui iuris|sui juris]]'' (meaning "of one's own right") to their names on legal documents to signify that they are reserving all the rights to which they are entitled as a free person.<ref name="spl4"/>

Postage stamps supposedly make pseudolegal documents authoritative, but their meaning varies depending on the "guru". One version has it that stamps grant sovereignty to pseudolaw affiliates: their use on documents purportedly makes one a "postmaster" with equal rights and peer status to [[nation state]]s.<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/>

When signing an official document such as a driver's license, mortgage document, or traffic ticket, sovereign citizens often add ''under threat, duress, and coercion'' (or a variation thereof, such as the initials ''TDC'') after or under their name to signify that they are not signing the document voluntarily, which purportedly helps them avoid entering into a "contract" with the illegitimate government and falling under its jurisdiction. Some write ''TDC'' after their [[ZIP codes]].<ref name="ADL Identifiers"/>

People and groups linked to the movement have been using a [[constructed language]] created by American theorist [[David Wynn Miller]], who asserted that this unorthodox version of the English language, variously called "Parse-Syntax-Grammar", "Correct-Language",<ref name="ozy2020">{{citation|last=Hay|first=Mark|title=American Fringes: The Bizarro English Used by Sovereign Citizens|date=July 29, 2020|url=https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/american-fringes-the-bizarro-english-used-by-sovereign-citizens/312024/|work=OZY|access-date=2020-07-28|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728191735/https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/american-fringes-the-bizarro-english-used-by-sovereign-citizens/312024/}}</ref> "Truth Language"<ref name="messiah">{{citation |title= 'Messiah-like figure' is doing own harvesting |first= Natasha |last= Wallace |date= January 15, 2011 |work= Sydney Morning Herald |url= https://www.smh.com.au/world/messiahlike-figure-is-doing-own-harvesting-20110114-19r9v.html |access-date= 2020-06-21}}</ref> or "Quantum Grammar",<ref name="wastingtime"/><ref name="bostonlawreview"/> guarantees success in legal proceedings where it constitutes the only "correct" form of communication.<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="ozy2020"/><ref name="messiah"/>

===Litigation and court cases===
{{see also|Frivolous litigation|Vexatious litigation|Paper terrorism|Abuse of process}}
Cases involving sovereign citizens can cause law enforcement officers and court officials severe problems.<ref name="NYT82313">{{Cite news |last=Goode |first=Erica |date=August 23, 2013 |title=In Paper War, Flood of Liens Is the Weapon |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/citizens-without-a-country-wage-battle-with-liens.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824215409/http://www.nytimes.com//2013//08//24//us//citizens-without-a-country-wage-battle-with-liens.html |archive-date=August 24, 2013}}</ref> Sovereign citizens may challenge the laws, rules, or sentences they disagree with by engaging in the practice known as [[paper terrorism]], which involves filing [[complaint]]s with legal documents that may be bogus or simply misused. Minor issues such as [[Moving violation|traffic violation]]s or disagreements over pet-licensing fees may provoke numerous court filings. Courts then find themselves burdened by having to process hundreds of pages of irregular, sometimes incomprehensible documents, straining their resources.<ref name="Laird2014"/><ref name="ForbesIII"/><ref name="adl"/><ref name="SPLC2022"/><ref name="wastingtime"/>

When involved in court cases, sovereign citizens generally act as their own lawyers, though sometimes a sovereign citizen "leader" may assist them in court. They often use uncommon or downright disconcerting pseudolegal tactics, and typically deny the court's jurisdiction over them.<ref name="wastingtime"/><ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="Meads"/>

In May 2019, Kim Blandino, a felon residing in [[Nevada]], was found guilty of traffic offenses. He threatened the judge who presided over his hearing that he would file complaints against him and demanded a monetary "settlement" from him.<ref>{{citation|last=Shoro|first=Mike|title=Man accused of trying to extort Las Vegas traffic court judge |date=May 22, 2019|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/man-accused-of-trying-to-extort-las-vegas-traffic-court-judge-1670446/|work=Las Vegas Review Journal|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref> Blandino was charged with extortion and impersonation of an officer. He then filed numerous motions to delay the proceedings and tried to disqualify almost every judge in the district. Blandino's motions required multiple reviews and countless hours of hearings.<ref name="wastingtime"/> In March 2022, Blandino was convicted in a jury trial. He then appealed his conviction with similar methods. On December 20, 2023, the Court of Appeals of Nevada affirmed the conviction, noting that Blandino's claims were "merely speculative" and that the court did not need to consider his argument as it was not "cogently argued".<ref  name=findlaw>{{cite web |title=Kim Dennis Blandino v. The State of Nevada (2023) |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/crt-app-nev/115650404.html |website=FindLaw |access-date=14 March 2024}}</ref>

===Traffic law violations===
{{see also|Moving violation}}
[[File:American State Nationals license plate.jpg|thumb|Irregular "American State National" license plate.]]
[[File:American State National License Plate (IL).jpg|thumb|Another license plate used by sovereign citizens, from [[Illinois]]. Note that it does not say "American State National" but is still illegal to be used nonetheless.]]
Sovereign citizens consistently violate [[Traffic code|traffic laws]] by refusing to register or insure their vehicles, or use driver's licenses or valid license plates.<ref name="roads"/><ref name="adl"/> Some use homemade license plates and [[bumper sticker]]s, which can serve the unintended purpose of warning police officers that they are dealing with a sovereign citizen.<ref name="roads"/> When asked for their driver's license, they may produce unrelated paperwork as an attempt to confuse the [[Traffic police|traffic officer]].<ref name="police9things">{{Cite web | date=September 20, 2024 |title=9 things to prepare for when encountering sovereign citizens |url=https://www.police1.com/terrorism/articles/9-things-to-prepare-for-when-encountering-sovereign-citizens-TQEYub9k8X2xEPKq/ |website=police1.com|accessdate=2025-04-03}}</ref> 

Most sovereign citizens' interactions with law enforcement take place on the road. As a result, the general public is mostly familiar with the movement through online videos of sovereign citizens' confrontations with traffic police.<ref name="roads"/>

===Anti-tax and other financial schemes===
{{see also|Tax resistance|Tax evasion|Mortgage elimination}}
Many sovereign citizens engage in various forms of tax resistance, causing disputes with government administrations.<ref name="ForbesIII"/><ref name="splc5">{{citation |title= Winston Shrout, One of America's Most High-Profile 'Sovereign Citizens,' is a Fugitive |work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date=23 April 2019 |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/04/23/winston-shrout-one-americas-most-high-profile-sovereign-citizens-fugitive |access-date= 2022-01-23}}</ref> It is estimated that sovereign citizens and other tax protesters caused the U.S. about $1 billion in public losses from 1990 to 2013.<ref name="swindle">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/business/sovereign-citizens-financial-crime.html |date=29 March 2019 |first=Ashley |last=Powers |newspaper=The New York Times |title=How Sovereign Citizens Helped Swindle $1 Billion From the Government They Disavow |access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref>

Sovereign citizens use a variety of fraudulent schemes, including filing false [[Security (finance)|securities]], to avoid paying taxes, get "refunds" from the government, or eliminate their [[debt]]s and [[Mortgage loan|mortgages]].<ref name="swindle"/> The belief that money is worthless since the [[gold standard]] was abandoned has led sovereign citizens to create fictitious [[financial instrument]]s. One of the first to use this method, in the 1980s, was tax protester and songwriter [[Tupper Saussy]], who created check-like instruments he called "Public Money Office Certificates". Saussy issued these "certificates" primarily as a form of protest, but sovereign citizens have been using false "[[promissory note]]s", "[[Negotiable instrument|bills of exchange]]", "[[coupon]]s", "[[Bond (finance)|bonds]]", or "[[Banker's acceptance|sight drafts]]" in attempts to pay taxes and [[public utilities|utility]] bills, purchase properties, or fight foreclosures. Some "gurus" have scammed adherents of the movement by selling them such counterfeit instruments.<ref name="Funny Money">{{cite news |url=https://www.adl.org/blog/sovereign-citizen-funny-money-not-so-humorous-for-victims |date=24 July 2017 |publisher= [[Anti-Defamation League]] |title=Sovereign Citizen Funny Money Not So Humorous For Victims |access-date=7 November 2022}}</ref> Other scams primarily target victims who are not part of the movement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 9, 2017 |title=Sovereign Citizens Sentenced |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/sovereign-citizens-sentenced |website=FBI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-31 |title=5 common crimes committed by sovereign citizens |url=https://www.police1.com/community/articles/5-common-crimes-committed-by-sovereign-citizens-1KKxo42li5FVeANM/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Police1 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Sovereign citizens may use the ineffective methods the [[redemption movement]] advocates for appropriating the sums from one's purported secret Treasury account: such schemes are sometimes called "money for nothing".<ref name="furiouspaper"/><ref name="Meads"/> For example, writing "Accepted for Value" or "Taken for Value" on bills or collection letters supposedly causes them to be paid with the straw man's secret fund<ref name="spl4"/><ref name="ADL Identifiers">{{Citation |title=The Sovereign Citizen Movement. Common Documentary Identifiers & Examples |date= 2016 |url=https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/Sovereign-Citizen-Documentary-Identifiers.pdf |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |access-date=February 7, 2022}}</ref> (this scheme is commonly known as "A4V").<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/><ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="Meads"/> Purported methods for claiming the secret fund include filing a [[UCC-1 financing statement]] against one's straw man after "separating" from it.<ref name="spl4"/>

===False liens and other harassment tactics===

Besides paper terrorism, sovereign citizens have used various techniques of [[intimidation]] and [[harassment]] to achieve their goals.<ref name="adl"/> They will commonly demand vast sums of money from public officials or private individuals they believe have wronged them: after being pulled over at traffic stops or held in police custody, sovereign citizens may "charge" the officials involved for their time and inconvenience. One method of retaliation they use against public officials or other real or perceived enemies is the filing of [[false lien]]s.<ref name="adl"/><ref name="police9things"/> Anyone can file a notice of lien against property such as real estate, vehicles, or other assets of another. In most U.S. states, the validity of liens is not investigated or inquired into at the time of filing. Notices of liens (whether legally valid or not) are a cloud on the title of the property and may affect the property owner's [[credit rating]] and ability to obtain home equity loans or refinance the property. Clearing up fraudulent notices of liens may be expensive and time-consuming.<ref name="NYT82313"/>

Illegitimate sovereign citizen common law courts also put enemies on "trial": on occasion, sovereign citizens have tried public officials in absentia and sentenced them to death for treason.<ref name="Laird2014"/>

Another tactic involves false [[arbitration]] entities operated by movement members that issue unilaterally, on their clients' behalf, "rulings" ordering the client's creditors or other victims to pay damages.<ref name="dallasnews"/><ref name="bogusarbitration">{{citation|last=Barrows|first=Samuel|title=New Sovereign Citizen Bogus "Arbitration" Tactics Appearing in Many States |date=June 16, 2021|url= https://www.adl.org/blog/new-sovereign-citizen-bogus-arbitration-tactics-appearing-in-many-states|work=Anti-Defamation League|access-date=18 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Michael|last=Karlik|url=https://gazette.com/premium/colorado-court-tosses-phony-arbitration-scheme-seeking-300-million-against-city/article_239e5eaa-0492-11ed-bf98-136ee393d873.html|title=Colorado court tosses phony arbitration scheme seeking $300 million against city|website=[[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)|The Gazette]]|language=en|date=July 18, 2022|access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref> In 2022, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] reported that although this particular tactic seems to have appeared around 2014, its use had intensified since 2019. According to the ADL's report, these sham rulings are designed, besides targeting specific victims, to clog the court system that sovereign citizens consider illegitimate.<ref name="bogusarbitration"/>

Some sovereign citizens have advocated and practiced [[adverse possession]] of properties.<ref name="SPLC2022"/> Notably, Moorish Sovereigns have cited [[Reparations for slavery in the United States|reparations for slavery]] as a justification for [[squatting]] homes and claiming other people's property as theirs, even though they also target the possessions of African Americans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/26/nyregion/moors-newark.html|title=She Bought Her Dream Home. Then a 'Sovereign Citizen' Changed the Locks.|website=The New York Times|language=en|access-date=2021-09-21}}</ref>

In the United States, authorities have identified some people involved in [[First Amendment audits]] as sovereign citizens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/article224221620.html|title=They roam public buildings, making videos. Terrorism experts say they may be dangerous.|website=kansascity|language=en|access-date=2019-01-22}}</ref>

== Legal status of theories ==
Sovereign citizens' tactics often succeed in delaying legal proceedings and occasionally confuse or exhaust public officials,<ref name="Laird2014"/><ref name="wastingtime"/><ref name="vice21"/> but their arguments are never upheld in court.<ref name="furiouspaper"/> Their claims have been consistently rejected by courts in various countries, including the U.S., Canada,<ref name="furiouspaper"/><ref name="Meads">{{cite web|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abqb/doc/2012/2012abqb571/2012abqb571.html|author=John D. Rooke|title=Reasons for Decision of the Associate Chief Justice J. D. Rooke|date=2012-09-18|website=canlii.org|access-date=January 20, 2022}}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{cite AustLII|WASC|329|2013|litigants=Agapis v Birmingham DCJ |courtname=auto}}.</ref> and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite NZLII|court=NZHC|num=2193|year=2014|litigants=France v Police |date=September 10, 2014 |courtname=auto}}.</ref> [[Mark Pitcavage]], a scholar working for the [[Anti-Defamation League]]'s Center on Extremism, has summed up sovereign citizen ideology as "[[magical thinking]]".<ref name="bizarre">{{citation |title=Pizzeria Owner Mounts Truly Bizarre Defense for Jan. 6 Riots |publisher =The Daily Beast|date=July 12, 2021|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/pizzeria-owner-pauline-bauer-mounts-truly-bizarre-defense-for-jan-6-riots|first1=Kelly|last1=Weill|access-date= 2022-07-13}}</ref> One [[New Hampshire House of Representatives|state representative]] from [[New Hampshire]], [[Richard Marple]], repeatedly tried to introduce legislation that would recognize sovereign citizen ideas, without success.<ref name="marple"/>

One crucial flaw of pseudolegal theories in general is that the "[[common law]]" they cite is based not on historical precedent but instead on an erroneous perception of traditional [[English law]].<ref name="furiouspaper"/><ref name="Netolitzky2018"/>

In 2012, the [[Court of King's Bench of Alberta|Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta]]'s ''Meads v. Meads'' decision, pertaining to a contentious divorce case in which the husband used [[freeman on the land movement|freeman on the land]] arguments, compiled a decade of Canadian jurisprudence and American academic research about [[pseudolaw]]. It went much further than the matters of the case by covering the most common pseudolegal arguments and tactics and refuting them in detail.<ref name="Meads"/><ref name="Netolitzky2019"/> ''Meads v. Meads'', written by Associate Chief Justice John D. Rooke, has since been used as [[case law]] by courts in Canada and in other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries.<ref name="Netolitzky2019"/>

===Immunity from laws and taxes===
{{see also|Rule of law}}
Pseudolegal documents and arguments claiming that one is personally immune from [[jurisdiction]] or should not be paying taxes have never been accepted by any court.<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="Royals">{{Cite web |title=From Spanish Royals To American Tax Protestors, Tax Evasion Can Mean Jail |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/01/10/from-spanish-royals-to-american-tax-protestors-tax-evasion-can-mean-jail/?sh=295d37ee3a4b|first1=Robert W.|last1=Wood|date=January 10, 2014 |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=Forbes}}</ref> The idea that one can avoid paying taxes in the country one resides in by renouncing or challenging the validity of one's citizenship and claiming to be a "non-resident alien" is legally baseless. The [[Internal Revenue Service]] has refuted in detail "frivolous tax arguments" such as this and the idea that filing [[tax return]]s and paying [[Income tax in the United States|Federal Income tax]] are "voluntary".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Tremblay |first1=Brea |date= April 12, 2015|title=The Crazy Tax Scam You've Never Heard Of |publisher=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-crazy-tax-scam-youve-never-heard-of |access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments |url=https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/the-truth-about-frivolous-tax-arguments-introduction |date=March 2022|access-date=July 9, 2022 |website= [[Internal Revenue Service]]}}</ref>

In 1990, after Andrew Schneider was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for making a threat by mail, he argued that he was a free, sovereign citizen and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of federal courts. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] rejected his argument as having "no conceivable validity in American law".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=%22910+F.2d+1569%22&as_sdt=3,44&case=6879104439699311440&scilh=0|title=US v. Schneider, 910 F. 2d 1569 - Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1990 - Google Scholar}}</ref> In 2017, former [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]] spokesman [[Jared Fogle]] similarly tried to overturn his convictions on [[child sex tourism]] and [[child pornography]] charges by denying the court's jurisdiction over him. The court dismissed Fogle's motions, reminding him that "the Seventh Circuit has rejected theories of individual sovereignty, immunity from prosecution, and their ilk".<ref>{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Reynolds|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/disgraced-pitchman-loses-bid-toss-sex-crimes-sentence/|title=Disgraced Pitchman Loses Bid to Toss Sex-Crimes Sentence|newspaper=Court House News|publisher=[[Courthouse News Service]]|location=Pasadena, California|date=November 9, 2017|access-date=November 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114204500/https://www.courthousenews.com/disgraced-pitchman-loses-bid-toss-sex-crimes-sentence/|archive-date=November 14, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Tim |last=Evans |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/11/13/judge-boots-ex-subway-spokesman-jared-fogles-child-sex-case-appeal/860830001/ |title=Judge boots ex-Subway spokesman Jared Fogle's child sex case appeal |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |location=McLean, Virginia |date=13 November 2017 |access-date=14 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114052748/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/11/13/judge-boots-ex-subway-spokesman-jared-fogles-child-sex-case-appeal/860830001/ |archive-date=14 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

When he faced tax evasion charges in 2006, actor [[Wesley Snipes]] adopted a sovereign citizen line of defense by claiming to be a "non-resident alien" who should not be subject to income tax. He was eventually found guilty of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns and sentenced to 36 months in prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2010/12/08/wesley-snipes-tells-larry-king-he-is-not-a-tax-protester/?sh=4c37895628e3 |title=Wesley Snipes Tells Larry King He Is Not A Tax Protester|work=Forbes|date=December 8, 2010 |access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.today.com/id/22955757 |title=Wesley Snipes acquitted of federal tax fraud |publisher=Today.com |date=October 4, 2015 |access-date=April 19, 2017 |archive-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518102423/http://www.today.com/id/22955757 }}</ref>

The belief that legal obligations are [[contract]]s that can be opted out of fails to acknowledge that government and court [[authority]] is not a product of one's [[consent]], and that the relationship between the state and an individual is not based on a contract.<ref name="OPCABC">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/schools/law/pdf/law-review-content/BCLR/62-3/OPCA-Document-Bestiary.pdf |title=Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Argument ["OPCA"] Materials: A Bestiary of Questionable Documents |last=Netolitzky |first=Donald J.|date=February 15, 2016 |access-date=November 9, 2022|publisher= [[Boston College]]}}</ref> The Canadian decision ''Meads v. Meads'' refuted the theory that laws are contracts, commenting:

{{Blockquote|A claim that the relationship between an individual and the state is always one of contract is clearly incorrect. Aspects of that relationship may flow from mutual contract (for example a person or corporation may be hired by the government to perform a task such as road maintenance), but the state has the right to engage in unilateral action, subject to the [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|Charter]], and the allocation and delegation of government authority.<ref name="Meads"/>}}

In a 2013 criminal case, the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Washington]] responded to pseudolegal filings by sovereign citizen Kenneth Wayne Leaming with the following comments: 
{{Blockquote|The Court [...] feels some measure of responsibility to inform Defendant that all the fancy legal-sounding things he has read on the internet are make-believe.<ref name="Royals"/> Defendant can call himself a "public minister" and "private attorney general", he may file "mandatory judicial notices" citing all his favorite websites, he can even address mail to the "Washington Republic". But at the end of the day, while sovereign citizens and Defendant cite things like "Universal Law Ordinances", they are subject to both state and federal laws, just like everyone else.<ref>Order, docket entry 102, February 12, 2013, ''United States v. Kenneth Wayne Leaming'', case no. 12-cr-5039-RBL, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Freely available on [[Recap (software)|RECAP]]: [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4411021/102/united-states-v-leaming/ courtlistener.com] link</ref><ref>Jury verdicts, February 28, 2013, and March 1, 2013, ''United States v. Kenneth Wayne Leaming'', case no. 12-cr-5039-RBL, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.</ref>}}

In 2021, Pauline Bauer, a [[Pennsylvania]] restaurant owner who was facing charges for participating in the [[2021 United States Capitol attack|Capitol riot]],<ref name="notaperson">{{citation |title=Capitol Rioter Insists 'I Am Not a Person' in 'Self-Destructive' Court Appearance |first1=Thomas |last1=Kika |publisher=Newsweek |date=25 September 2021 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/capitol-rioter-insists-i-am-not-person-self-destructive-court-appearance-1632726 |access-date= 2022-07-13}}</ref> used a sovereign citizen line of defense by claiming to be a "self-governed individual"<ref name="bizarre" /> and a "Free Living Soul"<ref name="polar" /> and thus immune to prosecution. She was jailed for one day for [[contempt of court]]<ref name="bizarre" /><ref>{{citation  |publisher=Business Insider |date=12 July 2021 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-riot-defendant-who-threatened-nancy-pelosi-rejects-lawyer-2021-7?r=US&IR=T |title=A Capitol riot defendant who threatened to hang Nancy Pelosi said she did not need an attorney because she was divinely immune from the court's laws |first1=Erin |last1=Snodgrass |access-date= 2022-07-13}}</ref> and later [[Remand (detention)|remanded to jail pending trial]] for refusing to cooperate with the court or comply with the conditions of her release.<ref name="notaperson" /><ref>{{citation |title=Capitol rioter ordered to jail after snubbing bail office |first1=Samantha |last1=Hawkins |publisher =Courthouse News |date=17 September 2021 |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/capitol-rioter-ordered-to-jail-after-snubbing-bail-office/ |access-date= 2022-07-13}}</ref> In January 2023, Bauer was found guilty on all counts of misdemeanor and of the felony of [[obstructing an official proceeding]].<ref name="Bauerguilty">{{citation |publisher=Law and Crime |date=24 January 2023 |url=https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-breach/pizzeria-owner-who-said-nancy-pelosi-needed-to-hang-convicted-of-jan-6-charges/ |title=Pizzeria Owner Who Said Nancy Pelosi Needed to 'Hang' Convicted of Jan. 6 Charges |first1=Marisa |last1=Sarnoff |access-date= 2023-01-26}}</ref> In May, she was sentenced to 27 months in prison.<ref>{{citation |publisher=Law and Crime |date=31 May 2023 |url=https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-riot/jan-6-rioter-who-threatened-to-hang-nancy-pelosi-gets-more-than-2-years-in-prison/ |title=January 6 rioter who threatened to 'hang' Nancy Pelosi gets more than 2 years in prison |first1=Adam |last1=Klasfeld |access-date= 2023-06-12}}</ref> Bauer's co-defendant, who had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, was sentenced to probation and to a $500 fine.<ref name="Bauerguilty" />

In 2022, Darrell Brooks, the perpetrator of the [[Waukesha Christmas parade attack]], claimed to be "sovereign"<ref name="CBS58" /> and used other pseudolegal arguments as part of his ''[[Pro se legal representation in the United States|pro se]]'' defense.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Darrell Brooks Jr. to represent himself in Waukesha parade trial |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2022/09/28/live-blog--darrell-brooks-jr--motion-hearing-resumes-for-second-day-represent-self |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=spectrumnews1.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vice">{{Cite web |title=Man Accused of Killing 6 at Christmas Parade Is Making a Mockery of His Trial |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/waukesha-christmas-parade-attack-darrell-brooks-trial/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=Vice News |date=October 18, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Darrell Brooks trial: Who has the defendant called to testify? |url=https://www.fox6now.com/news/darrell-brooks-trial-defense-testimony |website=FOX6 News Milwaukee |access-date=22 October 2022 |date=20 October 2022}}</ref> Judge [[Jennifer Dorow]] ruled that Brooks was not allowed to argue he was a sovereign citizen in court, saying the defense was without merit;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jordan |first1=Ben |title=Judge rules Brooks is unable to use 'sovereign citizen' defense at trial |url=https://www.tmj4.com/news/darrell-brooks-trial/judge-rules-brooks-is-unable-to-use-sovereign-citizen-defense-at-trial |website=TMJ4 News |access-date=22 October 2022 |date=6 October 2022}}</ref> she said that sovereign citizen legal theories are "nonsense" and that the movement's tactics had no place in the judicial system.<ref name="FOX6 2">{{cite web |title=Darrell Brooks trial: Fringe theory rejected by judge as 'nonsense'|url=https://www.fox6now.com/news/darrell-brooks-trial-fringe-theory-rejected |access-date=28 October 2022 |date=25 October 2022}}</ref> Brooks was found guilty on all counts<ref name="Brooksguilty">{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/10/26/1131614524/wisconsin-christmas-parade-suv-guilty |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=2022-10-26 |access-date=2022-10-26 |language=en-US |title=A Wisconsin man is convicted of killing 6 with an SUV in a Christmas parade}}</ref> and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.<ref>{{cite news |title=Waukesha trial: US man sentenced to life for car-ramming attack |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63651167 |website=[[BBC News]] |date=17 November 2022|access-date=2022-12-07}}</ref>

"Gurus" Bonnie and David Straight sold to their adherents processes and documents (such as "noncitizen national passports" and illegal license plates) purported to give them "American State National" status and make them immune to U.S. jurisdiction. The Straights' methods were proved ineffective in April 2023 when they were arrested and detained on several charges,<ref name="SovcitQanon" /> including driving without a license. Bonnie Straight, who had a warrant on a 2015 gun charge, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment: the court rejected her arguments that it did not have jurisdiction over her and did not allow her husband to represent her in court.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/sovereign-citizens-movement/|language=en-US |title=Sovereign Citizens Movement |website= Southern Poverty Law Center|date= |access-date=2025-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://casetext.com/case/allen-straight-v-texas-1|language=en-US |title=Allen-Straight v. Texas |website=casetext|date=October 7, 2023|access-date=2024-11-30}}</ref> 

The sovereign citizen concept that U.S. courts are secretly [[admiralty court]]s and thus have no jurisdiction over people has been repeatedly dismissed as [[Frivolous or vexatious|frivolous]].<ref name="Benchmark">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131216185721/http://judiciary.sut1.co.uk/docs/benchmark/benchmark_feb2012.pdf "Nonsense or loophole?"], ''Benchmark'', Issue 57, February 2012, pp 18-19</ref><ref>[http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F3/209/1227/474139/ ''United States v. Mackovich'', 209&nbsp;F.3d 1227, 1233–1235, fn. 2 (9th Cir. 2000)].</ref>

Author [[Richard Abanes]] writes that sovereign citizens fail to sufficiently examine the context of the case law they cite, and ignore adverse evidence, such as [[Federalist No. 15]], wherein [[Alexander Hamilton]] expressed the view that the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] placed everyone personally under federal authority.<ref name="Feucht" />

===Strawman theory and redemption schemes===
{{See also|Redemption movement#Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf}}
The core [[redemption movement|redemption/A4V]] theory that people possess vast sums of money hidden from them by the government in a secret account, and that this money can be unlocked through specific means, has no basis in reality. Likewise, the [[strawman theory]] has been repeatedly dismissed by courts. Both theories are listed by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] as common [[fraud]] schemes.<ref name="FBI">{{cite web |title=Common Fraud Schemes |url=https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes/redemption-strawman-bond-fraud |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220010017/https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes/redemption-strawman-bond-fraud |archive-date=2016-12-20 |access-date=2010-09-22 |work=fbi.gov |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref> In 2021, the [[District Court of Queensland]] dismissed an application that relied on the strawman theory, commenting that this argument "may properly be described as nonsense or gobbledygook".<ref name="gobbledygook">{{Citation|title='Nonsense, gobbledygook': Judge criticises man's bizarre argument to throw out drug charges|date= 16 September 2021 |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/nonsense-gobbledygook-judge-criticises-mans-bizarre-argument-to-throw-out-drug-charges/news-story/671c05955a5a67e3b089c14f009249e8 |publisher=news.com.au |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref> 
Redemption methods such as "Accepted for Value" are based on a misinterpretation of the [[Uniform Commercial Code]] and have no effect.<ref name="spl4"/>

Roger Elvick, the originator of the redemption movement, was convicted in 1991 in [[Hawaii]] of passing more than $1 million in false [[Sight draft|sight drafts]], and of filing fraudulent [[IRS tax forms|IRS form]]s. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Upon his release, Elvick resumed his activities, conceiving the strawman theory at that point. In 2003, he was indicted in [[Ohio]] on multiple [[felony]] counts. During preliminary hearings, Elvick disrupted proceedings by denying his identity and claiming that the court had no jurisdiction over him or his "strawman". A judge ruled Elvick mentally unfit to stand trial and committed him to a correctional psychiatric facility. After nine months of treatment, Elvick stood trial and pleaded guilty; in April 2005, he was sentenced to four years in prison.<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=His 'Straw Man' Free, a Scammer Finds the Rest of Him Isn't |journal=Intelligence Report |date=Summer 2005 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2005/his-straw-man-free-scammer-finds-rest-him-isnt |access-date=2018-09-08}}</ref>

Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf, a licensed lawyer who had been at one point a state prosecutor, eventually joined the sovereign citizen movement: she built an online following as a "guru" and advocated the use of redemption methods to reclaim one's alleged secret fund from the banking system and the [[Federal Reserve]]. One of her followers, Randall Beane, used [[Internet fraud]] to embezzle two million dollars, which he believed were part of his secret account; Tucci-Jarraf was aware of Beane's scheme and advised him throughout. Beane and Tucci-Jarraf were arrested and charged with [[Federal crime in the United States|federal crimes]]. Both were found guilty of conspiracy to [[Money laundering|launder money]] in 2018, with Beane also being convicted of [[Mail and wire fraud|wire]] and [[bank fraud]]. The court ruled that Tucci-Jarraf, having used her legal training to assist Beane, was an aggravating circumstance.<ref>{{cite news |title= Sovereign citizens guilty in federal bank fraud trial |first=Matt |last=Lakin |publisher=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |url=https://eu.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/31/tennessee-sovereign-citizens-trial-randall-bean-heather-ann-tucci-jarraf/1084220001/ |date=31 January 2018 |access-date= 1 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Federal Jury Convicts Knoxville Man and Former Washington State Prosecutor Turned Leader of Sovereign Citizen Movement of Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering |publisher= [[United States Department of Justice]] |url= https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/federal-jury-convicts-knoxville-man-and-former-washington-state-prosecutor-turned |date=1 February 2018 |access-date= 1 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sovereign Citizen Convicted After Giving Advice on Plundering Federal Reserve |first=Kelly |last= Weill |publisher= The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/sovereign-citizen-convicted-after-giving-advice-on-plundering-federal-reserve |date=4 February 2018 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Federal Jury Convicts Knoxville Man and Former Washington State Prosecutor Turned Leader of Sovereign Citizen Movement of Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering |first=Travis |last= Dorman |publisher=Knoxville News Sentinel |url=https://eu.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/07/17/heather-ann-tucci-jarraf-sovereign-citizen-hatj-sentenced-federal-bank-fraud-case/793925002/ |date=17 July 2018 |access-date= 1 December 2022}}</ref> Beane was sentenced to 155 months in prison, and Tucci-Jarraf to 57 months.<ref name="bostonlawreview"/>

Creating and selling fictitious financial instruments is likewise a [[Confidence trick|scam]]. People who purchased sovereign citizen instruments purported to help them pay off their debts or avoid foreclosures have worsened their situation by doing so.<ref name="Funny Money"/> Winston Shrout, an influential sovereign citizen "guru" based in [[Oregon]], who advocated [[Tax resistance in the United States|tax resistance]] and redemption/A4V schemes, issued hundreds of fake "bills of exchange" for himself and others, and eventually mailed to a bank one quadrillion dollars in counterfeit [[Security (finance)|securities]] supposedly to be honored by the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury]].<ref name="splc5"/><ref name="Geezer">{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/geezer-sovereign-citizen-on-the-lam-for-fake-money-scam|date=2019-05-02 |publisher=The Daily Beast|title=Geezer Sovereign Citizen on the Lam for Fake Money Scam|access-date=2022-11-17}}</ref> Shrout was charged in 2016 with 13 counts of using fictitious financial instruments.<ref name="ADLShrout"/> In 2017, he was found guilty of several counts of tax evasion and producing fraudulent documents. The next year, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Several of Shrout's followers who had tested his ideas, including his daughter, were also sentenced.<ref name="tinfoil">{{cite journal |journal=Washburn Law Journal |volume=58 |number=3 |last1=McRoberts |first1=Colin |title=Tinfoil Hats and Powdered Wigs: Thoughts on Pseudolaw |date=6 June 2019 |ssrn=3400362 }}</ref><ref name="splc5"/><ref name="Geezer"/>

===Traffic===
{{see also|Traffic code}}
Sovereign citizens' argument that they do not need driver's licenses, license plates, and vehicle insurances has never been upheld in court.<ref name="roads"/> One common response to this claim from [[Law enforcement in the United States|U.S. law enforcement]] is that, while anyone is [[Freedom of movement under United States law|free to "travel"]] by foot, by bike or even by horse, operating a motor vehicle is a complex activity that requires training and licensure.<ref name="police1">{{Cite web |date= February 10, 2015|title=5 responses to a sovereign citizen at a traffic stop |url=https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/articles/5-responses-to-a-sovereign-citizen-at-a-traffic-stop-FZ4ruThuMxTHVgEO/ |access-date=January 24, 2022 |website=Police one|language=en}}</ref> 

Sovereign Citizens falsely claim that the  [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] has upheld the right to travel as allowing operation of a motor vehicle without a driver's license.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/supreme-court-rules-drivers-licenses-unnecessary/ |title=Do You Need a Driver's License to Legally Operate a Car on Public Roads? |date=July 24, 2015 |website=Snopes}}</ref> On the contrary, several rulings state that drivers' licenses and traffic regulations are necessary for public safety.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Hendrick v. Maryland |vol=235 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=610. |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13681451034893205402 |year=1915}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Hess v. Pawloski |vol=274 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=352 |court=S. C. |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10830406968771121547 |year=1927}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Reitz v. Mealey |vol=314 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=33 |court=S. C. |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8317960360812670712 |year=1941}}</ref>

===Sovereign citizen legal entities===
Sovereign citizens' "common law courts" and other "legal" entities lack any legitimacy. Some may be simply ignored by authorities: in 2015, sovereign citizen "guru" Anna Maria Riezinger aka Anna von Reitz, the self-proclaimed "judge" of a common law court in [[Alaska]],<ref name="SeattleTimes"/> published a letter calling for federal agents to arrest President [[Barack Obama]], the entire [[United States Congress|Congress]] and the [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]],<ref name="reitz"/> causing a minor Internet rumor. [[Snopes]] debunked her claim by establishing that von Reitz was not a real judge and that her "orders" therefore had no force.<ref>{{citation |title=FALSE: Judge Calls U.S. Marshals, FBI to Arrest the President and Congress|work= |publisher = Snopes.com|date=December 11, 2015 |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/judge-arrest-the-president-congress/|access-date= 2022-01-20}}</ref>

However, depending on the nature and severity of their actions, sovereign citizen "courts" may be disbanded and their leaders prosecuted.<ref name="splc98">{{Citation |title=27 States Act Against Antigovernment Movement's Common Law Courts |date=June 15, 1998 |url= https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/1998/27-states-act-against-antigovernment-movement%E2%80%99s-common-law-courts |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref>

In 2016, after [[David Wynn Miller]]'s "Federal Postal court" issued a $11.5 million judgement against a mortgage service company, a federal judge investigated that entity and ruled that it was "a sham and no more than a product of fertile imagination".<ref name ="abajournal">{{citation |title=Judge of bogus 'postal court' files judgments, claims only nouns have legal meaning |author= Debra Cassens Weiss |date= March 22, 2016 |work= ABA Journal |url= https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_of_bogus_postal_court_files_purported_judgments_claims_only_nouns_hav |access-date= June 19, 2020}}</ref> Two years later, Leighton Ward, who worked as "clerk" of this false court<ref name ="abajournal"/> and had used this capacity as part of a [[mortgage elimination]] scheme based on the use of Miller's language,<ref>{{citation |title=The Sovereign Files: June 2017 |date=June 14, 2017 |work= Southern Poverty Law Center |url= https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/06/14/sovereign-files-june-2017|access-date= December 22, 2021 }}</ref> was sentenced in [[Arizona]] to {{frac|23|1|2}} years in prison for fraudulent schemes and artifices.<ref>{{cite news |title=Havasu man with sovereign citizen link convicted of forgery |first=Jim |last=Seckler |work=Mohave Valley Daily News |url=https://mohavedailynews.com/news/27130/havasu-man-with-sovereign-citizen-link-convicted-of-forgery/ |date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222110832/https://mohavedailynews.com/news/27130/havasu-man-with-sovereign-citizen-link-convicted-of-forgery/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lake Havasu man disrupts court as he's sentenced to prison|first=Jim |last=Seckler|work=Mohave Valley Daily News|url=https://mohavedailynews.com/news/27112/lake-havasu-man-disrupts-court-as-hes-sentenced-to-prison/|date=August 26, 2018|access-date=December 22, 2021|archive-date=February 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201085655/https://mohavedailynews.com/news/27112/lake-havasu-man-disrupts-court-as-hes-sentenced-to-prison/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |reporter=CA-CR |opinion=18-0629 |litigants=State v. Ward |court=Arizona Court of Appeals |url= https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/court-of-appeals-division-one-unpublished/2020/1-ca-cr-18-0629.html |access-date= December 22, 2021 }}</ref>

During the 2010s, computer repair shop owner Bruce Doucette, who styled himself as "Superior Court Judge of the Continental uNited States of America" and led a group called "The People's Grand Jury in Colorado", traveled the country to help other sovereign citizens fight local governments and set up their own "common law courts".<ref name="denverpost">{{cite news |title= People's Grand Jury, which threatened dozens of elected officials, was spurred to action by disbelief about legitimacy of U.S. government |work= |publisher = The Denver Post|date= August 23, 2017 |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/23/peoples-grand-jury-us-government-legitimacy/ |access-date= 2022-02-01}}</ref><ref name="spl1">{{cite news |title= End of the line for bogus 'Superior Court' judge |work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date= March 10, 2018 |url= https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/20/end-line-bogus-superior-court-judge |access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref><ref name="spl3">{{cite news |title= Members of Fake Courts Are Facing Real Jail Time |work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date= April 13, 2017 |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/04/12/members-fake-courts-are-facing-real-jail-time |access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref><ref name="cpr">{{cite news |title=Colorado Prosecutors Hope To Send A Message With 'Sovereign Citizen' Convictions |work= |publisher = CPR News |date= May 24, 2018 |url=https://www.cpr.org/2018/05/24/colorado-prosecutors-hope-to-send-a-message-with-sovereign-citizen-convictions/ |access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref> He and his followers attempted to intimidate public officials so they would dismiss criminal cases against other sovereign citizens.<ref name="spl2">{{cite news |title= Sovereign citizen Bruce Doucette sentenced to 38 years in prison |work= |publisher = Southern Poverty Law Center |date= May 23, 2018 |url= https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/05/23/sovereign-citizen-bruce-doucette-sentenced-38-years-prison|access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref> When these efforts failed, Doucette's group retaliated by engaging in [[paper terrorism]] against them<ref name="spl1"/> with false subpoenas and liens,<ref name="denverpost"/><ref name="westw">{{cite news |title= Self-Declared Judge in Sovereign Movement, Bruce Doucette, Found Guilty |work= |website = Westword |date=12 March 2018 |url=https://www.westword.com/news/judge-in-sovereign-movement-bruce-doucette-found-guilty-in-denver-10073308 |access-date= 2022-01-13}}</ref> and threatening them with "arrest" by their self-appointed "Marshals".<ref name="spl2"/> Doucette and a number of his associates were arrested and charged with multiple [[felony]] counts.<ref name="denverpost"/><ref name="cpr"/> In May 2018, [[Colorado]]'s [[Colorado district courts|18th Judicial District]] ruled that Doucette's network of "common law courts" was a [[racketeering]] enterprise equivalent to [[organized crime]] and also found Doucette guilty of retaliation against several judges and attempting to influence a public servant. He was sentenced to 38 years in prison.<ref name="spl2"/> Two of his co-defendants were sentenced to 36 and 22 years, respectively.<ref name="spl1"/> Colorado prosecutors commented that through this verdict, they wished to send a message nationally to sovereign citizens and remind them that threats against local government officials would not be tolerated.<ref name="cpr"/>

Randal Rosado, a [[Florida]] resident, created a series of false legal entities, including an "International Court of Commerce", and used them to file fictitious arrest warrants, court orders and liens against public officials and lawyers, most of whom had been involved in [[foreclosure]]s. In September 2019, Rosado was sentenced to 40 years in prison on numerous counts of unlawful retaliation against public officials and of [[Abuse of process|simulating the legal process]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Florida Man Gets 40 Years for Creating Fake International Court, Intimidating Government Officials |work = Newsweek|date=September 14, 2019 |url= https://www.newsweek.com/randal-rosado-florida-man-international-court-sovereign-citizen-1459274 |access-date= 2022-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Florida man gets 40 years for fake legal filings|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=September 14, 2019 |url= https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2019/09/16/florida-man-gets-40-years-for-fake-legal-filings/ |access-date= 2022-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Investigation: Randal Rosado charged after targeting St. Lucie sheriff, deputies, attorneys with 'paper terrorism'|work=TC Palm|date=November 15, 2019 |url=https://eu.tcpalm.com/story/news/crime/st-lucie-county/2019/11/15/randal-rosado-charged-and-jailed-after-targeting-sheriff-deputies-and-attorneys-paper-terrorism/4097625002/ |access-date= 2022-06-15}}</ref>

In August 2021, [[Sitcomm Arbitration Association]], the largest sovereign citizen "[[arbitration]]" entity,<ref name="Karlik">{{cite news |last1=Karlik |first1=Michael |title=Federal judge rejects attempt to extract $300 million from Loveland through 'bogus' arbitration |url=https://gazette.com/premium/colorado-court-tosses-phony-arbitration-scheme-seeking-300-million-against-city/article_239e5eaa-0492-11ed-bf98-136ee393d873.html |access-date=22 October 2022 |work=The Gazette}}</ref> was held liable for a $1,384,371.24 fine in a default judgment for violation of the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Default Judgment – #275 in PennyMac Loan Services, LLC v. Innovated Holdings, Inc. (S.D. Miss., 2:19-cv-00193) |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16575560/275/pennymac-loan-services-llc-v-innovated-holdings-inc/ |website=CourtListener |language=en-us}}</ref>

===Other arguments and schemes===
The claim that the [[District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871]] turned the United States into a business corporation is based on a misunderstanding of the term [[municipal corporation]] used in the Act (which referred to the District of Columbia and not to the entire country)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factmyth.com/factoids/the-united-states-is-a-corporation/ |title=The United States is a Corporation – Fact or Myth?|date=27 July 2017 |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="factcheck">{{cite web |url=https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/did-legislation-passed-in-1871-make |title=Did Legislation Passed in 1871 Make Washington, D.C., a Foreign Entity?|date=January 28, 2021 |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref> and on a misinterpretation of a provision in Title 28 of the [[United States Code]], which includes a definition of the United States as a "federal corporation" (meaning a group authorized to legally act as a single entity and not a business corporation).<ref name="GWedu"/>

The theories that "silence means consent" and that an unrebutted [[affidavit]] stands as truth are based on misinterpretations of the [[legal maxim]] "He who does not deny, admits".<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/>

The idea that "there is no crime if there is no injured party" is based on a misinterpretation of [[tort]] law<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/> and fails to recognize the existence of different levels of [[Wrongdoing|legal violation]]s.<ref name="police1"/>

Filing fraudulent notices of [[lien]]s or documents is a [[Crime in the United States|crime]] in the United States.<ref name="NYT82313"/> Other forms of [[paper terrorism]] may be similarly punished by law: Brett Andrew Nelson, a sovereign citizen from [[Colorado]], spent years filing "claims of damages" against judges and other public officials, as well as private citizens whom he felt had wronged him. His conflict with the judiciary started in 2017 over a child custody dispute. He later issued numerous false "judgements", demanding thousand of dollars from officials who had fined him for issues such as traffic violations and dog bites, and similarly harassed the mother of his child and people from his neighborhood. In April 2024, Nelson was sentenced to 12 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/gunnison-man-indicted-for-threatening-to-possess-homes-of-judges-in-3-counties/|title=Gunnison man indicted for threatening to possess homes of judges in 3 counties |first=Logan|last=Smith|date=February 25, 2023|website=CBS News Colorado}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jalopnik.com/sovereign-citizen-turns-traffic-tickets-into-a-12-year-1851435411|title=Sovereign Citizen Turns Traffic Tickets Into A 12-Year Prison Sentence |first=Erin |last=Marquis |date=April 25, 2024|website=Jalopnik}}</ref>

American courts have routinely dismissed documents written in [[David Wynn Miller]]'s "Parse-Syntax-Grammar"/"Quantum Grammar" language, calling them unintelligible.<ref name="ozy2020"/><ref>{{citation |title=Borkholder v. PNC Bank, Nat'l Ass'n |date=8 August 2012 |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914e9abadd7b0493492beea#p_4 |work=casemine.com |access-date=2021-12-23}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= Paet vs Hawaii |author-link=United States district court for the district of Hawaii|date=March 16, 2012 |work= casemine.com |url= https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914ebc0add7b04934944381 |access-date=December 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= United States vs Pflum|author-link=United States district court for the district of Kansas|date=August 21, 2013 |work= casemine.com |url= https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5c20d1f9342cca657a0d5523 |access-date=December 26, 2021}}</ref> Canadian judge John D. Rooke commented, in his ''Meads v. Meads'' decision, that Miller's "bizarre form of 'legal grammar{{'"}} is "not merely incomprehensible in Canada, but equally so in any other jurisdiction".<ref name="Meads"/>

The [[Universal Postal Union]], which is often invoked as a supranational authority in sovereign citizen schemes,<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/> has officially denied that it has "the authority to confer official recognition" upon sovereign citizens, "or to grant some kind of formal status to such individuals", also specifying that "the use of postage stamps on legal documents does not create an opportunity or obligation for the UPU to become involved in those matters".<ref>{{citation |title= UPU official statement concerning "sovereign citizens" and similar movements |date=16 April 2018 |url=https://www.upu.int/en/News/2018/4/UPU-official-statement-concerning-sovereign-citizens%E2%80%9D-and-similar-movements |work=upu.int |access-date=2022-07-21}}</ref>

== Outside the United States ==
There is some cross-over between the two groups calling themselves freemen on the land and sovereign citizens, as well as various others sharing similar beliefs, which may be loosely defined as "see[ing] the state as a corporation with no authority over free citizens".<ref name="kent2015"/>

===English-speaking countries===
{{See also|Freeman on the land movement}}

With the advent of the Internet and continuing during the 21st century, people throughout the [[English-speaking world|Anglosphere]] who share the core beliefs of these movements have been able to connect and share their ideas. While arguments specific to the history and laws of the United States are not used (except inadvertently, by litigants who use poorly adapted U.S. material),<ref name="Meads"/> many concepts have been incorporated or adopted by individuals and groups in English-speaking [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries.<ref name="kent2015"/><ref>{{Citation |last=Cocks |first=Joan |title=Immune from the Law? |date=Spring 2018 |url=https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/rule-law/immune-law |work=[[Lapham's Quarterly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315150122/https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/rule-law/immune-law |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Canada]], which has its own tradition of tax protesters,<ref name="HistoryCanada">{{cite journal |last=Netolitzky |first=Donald J. |title=The History of the Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Argument Phenomenon in Canada |url=https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2016CanLIIDocs55 |url-status=live |journal=[[Alberta Law Review]] |publisher=Alberta Law Review Society |volume=53 |issue=3 |date=2016 |access-date=23 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223212946/https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2016CanLIIDocs55 |archive-date=23 December 2020}}</ref> fiscal misconceptions of American origin were gradually introduced during the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/>

Around 1999–2000, sovereign citizen and [[redemption movement|redemption]] concepts were introduced into Canada by Eldon Warman, who adapted them to a Commonwealth context. These ideas were further adapted in Canada by the [[freeman on the land movement]], which espouses an ideology broadly similar to that of the sovereign citizen movement but is aimed at a less conservative audience. Canadian-style freeman of the land ideas were later imported into other Commonwealth countries, but American-style sovereign citizen ideology has also reached these regions of the world.<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/><ref name="Wagner">{{Cite web |last=Wagner |first=Adam |title=Freemen on the Land are 'parasites' peddling 'pseudolegal nonsense': Canadian judge fights back |url=http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2012/09/30/freemen-of-the-land-are-parasites-peddling-pseudolegal-nonsense-canadian-judge-fights-back/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620212814/http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2012/09/30/freemen-of-the-land-are-parasites-peddling-pseudolegal-nonsense-canadian-judge-fights-back/ |archive-date=June 20, 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2015 |website=UK Human Rights Blog |date=September 30, 2012 |publisher=1 Crown Office Row barristers' chambers.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Law Society of British Columbia: ''Practice Tips: The Freeman-on-the-Land movement'' |url=https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/getattachment/1fc7ccb4-be3d-4f3c-b03d-6ba4a27d4b7b/bb_2012-04-winter.pdf.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417061546/http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=2627 |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2015}}</ref>

As of the 2010s, there are people identifying as sovereign citizens in Canada, [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], and [[South Africa]].<ref name="Netolitzky2018"/><ref name="kent2015"/><ref>{{Citation |title=Sovereign Citizens Are Trying To Set Up Their Own Anti-Vax Schools in the UK|date=October 1, 2021|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/sovereign-citizens-are-trying-to-set-up-their-own-anti-vax-schools-in-the-uk/|publisher=Vice.com |access-date=January 31, 2022}}</ref> Sovereign citizens from the U.S. have gone on speaking tours to New Zealand and Australia, appealing to struggling farmers, and there are Internet presences in both countries.<ref name="kent2015"/>

====Canada====
Whilst the more Canada-specific [[freeman on the land movement]] has declined since the early 2010s,<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/> the Canadian sovereign citizen movement has gained traction during the same period.<ref name="Moore 2013">{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Dene |title=Canada's sovereign citizen movement growing, officials warn |website=CTVNews |date=2 September 2013 |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-s-sovereign-citizen-movement-growing-officials-warn-1.1436905 |access-date=7 April 2021}}</ref> Canada had an estimated 30,000 sovereign citizens in 2015, many associating with the freeman on the land movement as well.<ref>{{Citation |last=Dyck |first=Darryl |title='Sovereign citizen' movement worrying officials as 30,000 claim they 'freed' themselves from Canada's laws |date=January 25, 2015 |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/sovereign-citizen-movement-worrying-officials-as-30000-claim-they-freed-themselves-from-canadas-laws |work=[[National Post]] |access-date=January 11, 2020}}</ref> There can be confusion between the two populations.<ref name="Netolitzky2019"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Graveland |first=Bill |title=Freemen-On-The-Land: Little-Known 'Sovereign Citizen' Movement Emerged From Shadows In 2013 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/18/freemen-on-the-land-sovereign-citizen_n_4464130.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620203508/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/18/freemen-on-the-land-sovereign-citizen_n_4464130.html |archive-date=June 20, 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2015 |website=HuffPost |date=December 18, 2013 |agency=The Canadian Press}}</ref>

Legal scholar Donald J. Netolitzky makes a distinction between the Canadian sovereign citizen and freeman on the land movements, in that freemen on the land, while ideologically heterogenous, tend to be politically more [[Left-wing politics|left leaning]] than sovereign citizens.<ref name="Netolitzky2019"/>

The 2012 ''Meads v. Meads'' ruling examined almost 150 cases involving [[pseudolaw]] and sovereign citizen or freeman of the land tactics, grouping them and characterizing them as "Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Arguments".<ref name="Meads"/><ref name="Netolitzky2018"/>

[[Romana Didulo]], one of Canada's most notorious QAnon conspiracy theorists during the early 2020s, also used sovereign citizen rhetoric to persuade her followers not to pay their taxes, debts, or utility bills.<ref name="conversationsarteschi"/> In 2024, lawyer Naomi Arbabi resigned her license after being suspended by the Law Society of British Columbia for filing a frivolous lawsuit that used pseudolegal arguments similar to those of the sovereign citizen movement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-lawyer-pseudolegal-lawsuit-licence-resigned-1.7098461|access-date=2024-05-12|date=2024-01-30|title=Vancouver lawyer resigns licence after filing 'frivolous and vexatious' lawsuit against neighbour|publisher=CBC News|first=Bethany|last=Lindsay}}</ref>

====Australia====
{{See also|Far-right terrorism in Australia#Others}}

Australia, which has its own tradition of pseudolaw, imported sovereign citizen ideas in the 1990s, even before the movement's 2000s resurgence. It later imported the more Commonwealth-specific freeman on the land movement.<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/> There is some cross-over between Australian freemen on the land,<ref name="stocken2016">{{cite news|last=Stocken|first=Shelley|date=8 July 2016|title=The seriously weird beliefs of Freemen on the land|newspaper=News.com.au|publisher=Nationwide News Pty Ltd|location=Australia|url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-seriously-weird-beliefs-of-freemen-on-the-land/news-story/cd91441f8f406a48457d5450b0a264f9|access-date=5 April 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170509200511/http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-seriously-weird-beliefs-of-freemen-on-the-land/news-story/cd91441f8f406a48457d5450b0a264f9|archive-date=2017-05-09|url-status=live}}</ref> local sovereign citizens groups, and some others.<ref name="kent2015"/><ref name="stocken2016"/> The core concept has been tested by several court cases, none successful for the "freemen".<ref name="lawland">{{Cite web |date=September 16, 2016 |title=Freeman on the land (sovereign citizens) |url=https://youveenteredlawland.com/freeman-on-the-land-australia/ |access-date=April 5, 2021 |website=You've entered law land}} Note: This is a blog, but it contains useful links to the cases on Austlii, and summaries written by a lawyer.</ref> In 2011, [[climate denier]] and political activist [[Malcolm Roberts (politician)|Malcolm Roberts]] (later elected senator for [[Pauline Hanson's One Nation]] party), wrote a letter to then Prime Minister [[Julia Gillard]] filled with characteristic sovereign citizen ideas and vocabulary, although he denied that he was a "sovereign citizen".<ref>{{Citation |last=Vincent |first=Sam |title=Eyes wide open |date=November 2016 |url=https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2016/november/1477918800/sam-vincent/eyes-wide-open |work=[[The Monthly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723072059/https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2016/november/1477918800/sam-vincent/eyes-wide-open |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Koziol |first=Michael |title=One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts wrote bizarre 'sovereign citizen' letter to Julia Gillard |date=August 6, 2016 |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/one-nation-senatorelect-malcolm-roberts-wrote-bizarre-sovereign-citizen-letter-to-julia-gillard-20160804-gqlesa.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313153728/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/one-nation-senatorelect-malcolm-roberts-wrote-bizarre-sovereign-citizen-letter-to-julia-gillard-20160804-gqlesa.html |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=March 13, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

From the 2010s, there has been a growing number of freemen targeting [[Indigenous Australians]], with groups using names like Tribal Sovereign Parliament of [[Gondwana]] Land, the Original Sovereign Tribal Federation (OSTF) and the Original Sovereign Confederation. OSTF Founder Mark McMurtrie, an [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] man, has produced YouTube videos speaking about "common law", which incorporate freemen beliefs. Appealing to other Aboriginal people by partly identifying with the [[land rights in Australia|land rights movement]], McMurtrie played on their feelings of alienation and lack of trust in the systems which had not served Indigenous people well.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Glazov |first1=Ramon |title=Freemen movement targets Indigenous Australia |url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/indigenous-affairs/2014/09/06/freemen-movement-targets-indigenous-australia/1409925600962 |work=The Saturday Paper |date=6 September 2014 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hassan |first1=Toni |title=Who are the 'Original Sovereigns' who were camped out at Old Parliament House and what are their aims? |url=https://theconversation.com/who-are-the-original-sovereigns-who-were-camped-out-at-old-parliament-house-and-what-are-their-aims-174694 |work=The Conversation |date=16 January 2022 }}</ref>

In 2015, the [[New South Wales Police Force]] identified "sovereign citizens" as a potential terrorist threat, estimating that there were about 300 sovereign citizens in the state at the time.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=James |last2=McGregor |first2=Jeanavive |date=November 30, 2015 |title=Sovereign citizens: Terrorism assessment warns of rising threat from anti-government extremists |work=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-30/australias-sovereign-citizen-terrorism-threat/6981114 |url-status=live |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130183050/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-30/australias-sovereign-citizen-terrorism-threat/6981114 |archive-date=November 30, 2015}}</ref> Freemen/sovereign citizen ideas have been promoted on the Internet by various Australian groups such as "United Rights Australia" (U R Australia).<ref name=kent2015/><ref name="vox2018">{{Cite web |last=Hutchinson |first=Jade |date=October 3, 2018 |title=The 'Right' Kind of Dogma |url=https://www.voxpol.eu/the-australian-new-right-movement-online-and-others/ |access-date=April 5, 2021 |website=VOX – Pol}}</ref>

The [[COVID-19 pandemic in Australia|COVID-19 pandemic]] has accelerated the spread of the movement in Australia; numerous incidents with law enforcement have since been reported, some of them violent such as the 2022 [[Wieambilla shootings]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carey |first=Alexis |title=Inside Australian sovereign citizens' twisted chat group messages where conspiracy theories swirl |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/inside-australian-sovereign-citizens-twisted-chat-group-messages-where-conspiracy-theories-swirl/news-story/d524a89987816fdf015179ab1ff317c5 |date=January 24, 2023|access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=news.com.au}}</ref>

====New Zealand====
New Zealand, which has imported foreign pseudolaw including Canadian freeman of the land ideology, has developed its own sovereign citizen movement.<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/> In 2024, police identified 1,400 New Zealanders as acting under the influence of sovereign citizen ideology.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubbard |first=Catherine |title=Over 60 SovCits lose their firearms licences in intelligence op |url=https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/350415010/over-60-sovcits-lose-their-firearms-licences-intelligence-op |date=October 13, 2024|access-date=November 21, 2024 |website=[[The Press]]}}</ref> Many litigants using pseudolegal concepts in New Zealand are [[Māori people|Maori]].<ref name="Netolitzky20182"/>

====United Kingdom====
[[File:Legal_Name_Fraud_poster.jpg|thumb|right|Sovereign citizen "legal name fraud" billboard in the UK, 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36499750 |title=The mystery of the 'legal name fraud' billboards |last=Kelly |first=Jon |date=2016-06-11 |access-date=2019-09-02 |language=en-GB}}</ref>]]
Sovereign citizen ideology reached the United Kingdom around 2010.<ref name="lawless ones"/> British sovereign citizens have helped spread [[COVID-19 misinformation|COVID vaccine misinformation]] as well as various conspiracy theories – including [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11 theories]] and one about [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] having been replaced by a satanic [[cabal]] – and tried to set up their own [[cryptocurrency]].<ref name="UKonnotice"/>

The ''Common Law Court'' website, one of the main UK sovereign citizen resources, has for a time supported an [[pretender|impostor who claimed to be the rightful heir]] to the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British throne]].<ref name="UKonnotice"/> The group known as The Sovereign Project claims to have 20,000 members as at 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cheshire |first1=Tom |title=Meeting the deeply radical anti-tax group that is 'growing in popularity' |url=https://news.sky.com/story/meeting-the-deeply-radical-anti-tax-group-that-is-growing-in-popularity-13254219 |access-date=15 November 2024 |publisher=Sky News |date=15 November 2024}}</ref>

=== Austria and Germany ===
{{See also|Reichsbürger movement}}

The {{lang|de|Reichsbürger}} ({{literal translation|imperial citizen}}) movement in Germany originated around 1985 and had approximately 19,000 members in 2019, more concentrated in the south and east. The originator claimed to have been appointed head of the post-World War I {{lang|de|[[Reich]]}}, but other leaders claim [[German Empire|imperial]] authority. The movement consists of different, usually small groups. Some groups have issued passports and identification cards.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gauvey Herbert |first1=David |title=The King of Germany Will Accept Your Bank Deposits Now |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-19/who-is-germany-s-self-proclaimed-king-peter-fitzek |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=19 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schuetze |first1=Christopher F. |title=Germany Shuts Down Far-Right Clubs That Deny the Modern State |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/world/europe/germany-reich-citizens-ban.html |work=The New York Times |date=19 March 2020 }}</ref> The {{lang|de|Reichsbürger}} movement claims that modern day Germany is not a sovereign state but a corporation created by Allied nations after World War II. They also expressed their hope that Donald Trump would lead an army to restore the empire.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bennhold |first1=Katrin |title=QAnon Is Thriving in Germany. The Extreme Right Is Delighted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/world/europe/qanon-is-thriving-in-germany-the-extreme-right-is-delighted.html |work=The New York Times |date=11 October 2020 }}</ref> According to the [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|German domestic intelligence service]], only a small number of groups in the Reich citizen movement fall into the far-right spectrum. Rather, the common denominator is the rejection of the [[Germany|Federal Republic]] as a legal entity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Begriff und Erscheinungsformen |trans-title=Concept and manifestations |url=https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/DE/themen/reichsbuerger-und-selbstverwalter/begriff-und-erscheinungsformen/begriff-und-erscheinungsformen_node.html |website=Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|language=de}}</ref> The Reichsbürger movement has used language and techniques from the One People's Public Trust, an American sovereign citizen group operated by "guru" Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf.<ref name="bostonlawreview"/> On December 7, 2022, 25 people connected to the {{lang|de|Reichsbürger}} movement were arrested in a nationwide raid by German police forces, for their involvement in a [[2022 German coup d'état plot|suspected terrorist plot]] against the German government and institutions.<ref>{{cite news |title=German police arrest 25 suspects in plot to overthrow state |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-arrest-25-suspects-over-plot-to-overthrow-state/a-64011136 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=7 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref> On May 13, 2025, the German government banned the main Reichsbürger organization, "Königreich Deutschland".<ref>{{cite news |title=Dobrindt verbietet "Königreich Deutschland" |url=https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/deutschland/verbot-reichsbuerger-koenigreich-deutschland-dobrindt-100.html |website= [[ZDF]] |date=2025-05-13|language=de}}</ref>

In Austria, the group {{lang|de|Staatenbund Österreich}} ('Austrian Commonwealth'), in addition to issuing its own passports and licence plates, had a written constitution.<ref name="Marko2020">{{Cite journal |last=Marko |first=Karoline |year=2020 |title='The rulebook – our constitution': a study of the 'Austrian Commonwealth's' language use and the creation of identity through ideological in- and out-group presentation and legitimation |journal=Critical Discourse Studies |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=565–581 |doi=10.1080/17405904.2020.1779765 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The group, established in November 2015, also used language from the One People's Public Trust.<ref name="Hartleb2020">{{Google books|4m_JDwAAQBAJ|The so-called Federation of States of Austria (Staatenbund Österreich)|page=140}} in {{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-36153-2_4 |chapter=Radicalisation in Our Midst and in Virtual Rooms and Spaces |title=Lone Wolves |year=2020 |last1=Hartleb |first1=Florian |pages=123–148 |isbn=978-3-030-36152-5 |s2cid=212784750 }}</ref> In 2019, its leader was sentenced to 14 years in jail after trying to order the army to overthrow the government and requesting foreign assistance from [[Vladimir Putin]]; other members received lesser sentences.<ref>{{cite news |title='President' of Austrian anti-state group jailed for 14 years |url=https://www.thelocal.com/20190125/president-of-austrian-anti-state-group-jailed-for-14-years/ |work=The Local Europe |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=25 January 2019 }}</ref>

===Italy===
As of the 2010s, incidents involving sovereign citizens have been reported in Italy, with various people purporting to opt out of Italian citizenship through nonlegal procedures and make themselves immune from Italian law. Members of one group attempt to do so by declaring themselves citizens of the "Sovereign Kingdom of [[Gaia]]" ({{lang|it|Regno Sovrano di Gaia}}) while others refer to themselves as the "People of Mother Earth" ({{lang|it|Popolo della Terra Madre}}).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Dentro l'assurdo mondo dei 'sovranisti individuali' italiani |trans-title=Inside the absurd world of Italian "sovereign individuals" |magazine=Vice |date=March 6, 2017 |url=https://www.vice.com/it/article/dentro-lassurdo-mondo-dei-sovranisti-individuali-italiani/|access-date= 2022-01-20|language=it}}</ref> 

Another group called "We is, I am" ({{lang|it|Noi è, Io sono}}, also translated as "One People I Am") emerged in Italy in the early 2020s, inciting its followers to stop paying utility bills, taxes, and fines, and to reject passports and driver's licenses.<ref>{{cite web |title=One People I Am, la «setta» di chi non crede nell'esistenza dell'Italia (e viaggia senza passaporto)|website=[[Corriere della Sera]] |date=2024-11-03 |url=https://www.corriere.it/tecnologia/24_novembre_03/one-people-i-am-la-setta-di-chi-non-crede-nell-esistenza-dell-italia-e-viaggia-senza-passaporto-946362f9-ee0c-40a6-b581-afdcac5a1xlk.shtml|access-date= 2025-05-06|language=it|first=Velia|last=Alvich}}</ref> This movement is connected with American "guru" Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf<ref>{{cite news |title=Setta sovranista Usa sfida i giudici di Imperia|first=Maurizio |last=Vezzaro |newspaper = [[Il Secolo XIX]]|date=March 25, 2023|url=https://www.ilsecoloxix.it/imperia/2023/03/25/news/setta_sovranista_usa_sfida_i_giudici_di_imperia-12718751/ |access-date= 2024-04-02|language=it}}</ref> and, according to Italian media, had about 10,000 followers in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title='Noi è, Io sono': la setta complottista che firma la patente col sangue. I casi nel Bresciano e le chat su Telegram |newspaper =[[Corriere della Sera]] |date=March 13, 2024 |url=https://brescia.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_marzo_13/noi-e-io-sono-la-setta-complottista-che-firma-la-patente-col-sangue-i-casi-nel-bresciano-e-le-chat-su-telegram-26727b13-69be-41c3-9642-9919246b1xlk.shtml|access-date= 2024-03-17|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='Noi è, io sono': vivere non riconoscendo lo Stato|website=[[Le Iene]] |date=April 25, 2023 |url=https://www.iene.mediaset.it/video/vivere-non-riconoscendo-lo-stato_1257866.shtml|access-date= 2024-04-01|language=it}}</ref>

===Russia===
{{Main|Union of Slavic Forces of Russia}}

A Russian movement of conspiracy theorists, known among other names as the Union of Slavic Forces of Russia ({{lang|ru|Союз славянских сил Руси}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|Soyuz slavyanskikh sil Rusi}}), or more informally as "Soviet Citizens", holds that the Soviet Union still exists ''[[de jure]]'' and that the current Russian government and legislation are thus illegitimate. One of its beliefs is that the [[Government of Russia|government of the Russian Federation]] is an [[offshore company]] through which the United States illegally controls the country.<ref name="ng.ru">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ng.ru/ng_religii/2020-09-01/9_493_witnesses.html|script-title=ru:О растущем движении «свидетелей СССР»|website=www.ng.ru}}</ref><ref name="vesti.ru">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vesti.ru/article/2417117|script-title=ru:Секта свидетелей СССР: кто и для чего покупает серпасто-молоткастый паспорт|website=vesti.ru}}</ref><ref name="Moscowtimes">{{cite news |last1=Light |first1=Felix |title=Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Flourish in Russia's Republic of North Ossetia |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/05/22/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-flourish-in-russias-republic-of-north-ossetia-a70346|access-date=February 15, 2022 |work=The Moscow Times |date=May 22, 2020 }}</ref>

=== France and Belgium ===
In [[France]], pseudolegal arguments claiming that enacted laws were invalid became gradually popular during the 2010s among conspiracy theorists. They gained more traction during the [[yellow vests protests]], with claims that the [[Constitution of France]] was null and void.<ref name="contracte">{{cite web |title='Je ne contracte pas' : le monde parallèle des 'êtres souverains', la mouvance complotiste qui amuse autant qu'elle inquiète |date=April 14, 2024|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/internet/reseaux-sociaux/je-ne-contracte-pas-le-monde-parallele-des-etres-souverains-la-mouvance-complotiste-qui-amuse-autant-qu-elle-inquiete_6480251.html |access-date=April 18, 2024 |website=[[France Info]]|language=fr}}</ref> 

A [[New Age]]-oriented French group of conspiracy theorists called "One Nation" became known to the public in 2021 for their involvement in the [[Timeline of incidents involving QAnon#Later|kidnapping of a child]]. Later that year, they attempted to purchase a property in [[Lot (department)|Lot]], purportedly to create a "center for the arts" and a "research laboratory". The One Nation movement holds beliefs similar to those of American sovereign citizens and denies the legitimacy of the [[French Fifth Republic|French State]]. They also share beliefs with [[QAnon]]. The group translates the name "sovereign citizens" in French as {{Lang|fr|êtres souverains}} (sovereign beings) or {{Lang|fr|êtres éveillés}} (awakened beings).<ref>{{cite web |title=Le mouvement complotiste et antisystème One Nation sur le point d'acquérir un domaine dans le Lot |date=September 28, 2021|url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/lot/cahors/le-mouvement-complotiste-et-antisysteme-one-nation-sur-le-point-d-acquerir-un-domaine-dans-le-lot-2269165.html |access-date=January 6, 2022 |website=[[France 3]]|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=La nation virtuelle ne verra pas le jour dans le monde réel|url=https://www.unadfi.org/actualites/groupes-et-mouvances/la-nation-virtuelle-ne-verra-pas-le-jour-dans-le-monde-reel/|date=November 15, 2021|access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=[[Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu]]|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Théorie de l'élite pédophile, rejet des institutions... One Nation, la mouvance complotiste qui veut étendre son influence en France |date=October 29, 2021|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/le-choix-franceinfo/theorie-de-lelite-pedophile-rejet-des-institutions-one-nation-la-mouvance-complotiste-qui-veut-etendre-son-influence-en-france_4808097.html |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=France Info|first1=Boris|last1=Loumagne|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=One Nation: mais qui sont Alice Pazalmar et les êtres souverains? |date=November 19, 2021|url=https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1101356/article/2021-11-19/one-nation-mais-qui-sont-alice-pazalmar-et-les-etres-souverains
 |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=[[La Voix du Nord]]|language=fr}}</ref> 

In 2021, people affiliated with One Nation were reported to be active in [[Belgium]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Des Belges rejettent l'Etat et demandent à devenir souverains |date=December 21, 2021|url= https://www.lesoir.be/413777/article/2021-12-21/des-belges-rejettent-letat-et-demandent-devenir-souverains |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=Le Soir|language=fr}}</ref> In February 2022, the group's French spokeswoman was sentenced to six months in prison for multiple traffic violations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alice Pazalmar, membre de One Nation, condamnée dans le Lot à 6 mois de prison ferme |date=February 1, 2022|url=https://www.ladepeche.fr/2022/02/01/alice-palzamar-membre-de-one-nation-condamnee-dans-le-lot-a-6-mois-de-prison-ferme-10082181.php |access-date=September 28, 2022|website=[[La Dépêche du Midi]]|language=fr}}</ref> She was arrested and incarcerated in September of the same year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tarn: la figure emblématique du mouvement conspirationniste One Nation interpellée |date=September 27, 2022 |url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/tarn/albi/tarn-la-figure-emblematique-du-mouvement-conspirationniste-one-nation-interpellee-2622424.html |access-date=September 28, 2022|website=France 3|language=fr}}</ref>

In 2024, sovereign citizen ideology became more familiar to the French general public due to the [[viral video]] of an incident between a couple of conspiracy theorists and traffic police.<ref>{{cite news |title=«Je ne contracte pas» : qui sont les «citoyens souverains», ces complotistes derrière la vidéo virale ?|date=April 6, 2024|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/je-ne-contracte-pas-qui-sont-les-etres-souverains-ces-complotistes-derriere-la-video-virale-20240406 |access-date=November 22, 2024|website=[[Le Figaro]]|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="contracte"/> It was also reported that the movement was gaining more followers in Belgium.<ref>{{cite web |title=Les 'citoyens souverains', ces marginaux sectaires qui refusent de se soumettre aux lois propagent leurs idées jusqu'en Belgique|date=April 13, 2024|url=https://www.dhnet.be/actu/belgique/2024/04/13/les-citoyens-souverains-ces-marginaux-sectaires-qui-refusent-de-se-soumettre-aux-lois-propagent-leurs-idees-jusquen-belgique-VYUCCVNG2RDVPGXX7ZCSMLDEFM/ |access-date=November 23, 2024|website=[[La Dernière Heure]]|language=fr}}</ref>

===Netherlands===
In 2023, the sovereign citizen movement was reported to be gaining traction in the [[Netherlands]]. People connected with a group called "Common Law Netherlands Earth" (''Common Law Nederland Earth'') organised themselves as "sheriffs" and rejected the rule of law in the Netherlands. In July 2024, a movement member was tried for attempting to illegally acquire firearms. Other Dutch sovereign citizens were reported to have made similar attempts, which caused concern in the Netherlands, where anti-government radical movements are traditionally considered nonviolent. In 2024, Dutch intelligence and security services estimated the number of Dutch sovereign citizens as several tens of thousands.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sovereign Citizen Groups in the Netherlands are Arming Themselves: Cause for Concern?|date=2024-07-16|url=https://icct.nl/publication/sovereign-citizen-groups-netherlands-are-arming-themselves-cause-concern |access-date=2025-05-01|first=Menso|last=Hartgers|website=[[International Centre for Counter-Terrorism]]|language=en}}</ref>

=== Czech Republic ===
The movement was first covered by Czech media in 2022, when the government noticed an increasing number of people submitting a "[[sworn declaration]] of life" and demanding to terminate a contract with the "Czech Republic corporation".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hrdlička |first=Jan |date=2022-05-21 |title=Češi na úřady posílají vlasy a otisky prstů. Úředníci nevědí, co s nimi |language=Czech |work=Echo24 |url=https://echo24.cz/a/SQEKR/cesi-na-urady-posilaji-vlasy-a-otisky-prstu-urednici-nevedi-co-s-nimi |access-date=2023-05-25}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Hnutí Suverénních občanů a jejich aktivity v České republice |url=https://www.mvcr.cz/chh/clanek/hnuti-suverennich-obcanu-a-jejich-aktivity-v-ceske-republice.aspx |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=Centrum proti hybridním hrozbám |publisher=[[Ministry of the Interior (Czech Republic)|Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic]] |language=Czech}}</ref> It gained further traction in the middle of 2023, when sovereign citizen movement followers tried to interrupt multiple court proceedings  involving disseminators of COVID-19 and [[Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russo-Ukrainian War disinformation]], demanding that the judges "identify" themselves.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prchalová |first=Barbora |date=2023-05-30 |title=Peterková dostala za poplašné zprávy dvouletou podmínku, stráž musela krotit dav |language=cs |work=[[Mladá fronta DNES|iDNES.cz]] |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/jana-peterkova-dezinformace-poplasne-zpravy-soud.A230529_185131_domaci_prch |access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rambousková |first=Michaela |date=2023-06-07 |title=Soud řešil obžalobu dezinformátorů. Peterkovou po kolapsu odvezla sanitka |language=cs |work=Seznam Zprávy |url=https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-zivot-v-cesku-tezkoodenci-hymna-polehavani-na-chodbe-soud-resi-obzalobu-dezinformatoru-232175 |access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref> The movement was also connected to a case of a family with two unregistered children living in a [[yurt]] near [[Náchod]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Žlábková |first=Ludmila |date=2023-06-09 |title=Při drogové šťáře našli dvě "vlčí děti". Soud holčičky pojmenoval Lada a Mariana |language=cs |work=Novinky.cz |url=https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/krimi-pri-drogove-stare-nasli-dve-vlci-deti-soud-holcicky-pojmenoval-lada-a-mariana-40434250 |access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref>

Czech members of the movement maintain that they remain ''[[de jure]]'' citizens of [[Czechoslovakia]], based on a belief that the [[dissolution of Czechoslovakia]] was illegal.<ref name=":0" /> There are multiple active groups based on the sovereign citizen ideology, the most prominent one being the "Community of Legitimate Creditors of the Czech Republic" ({{langx|cs|Společenství legitimních věřitelů České republiky}}).<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rambousková |first1=Michaela |last2=Faikis |first2=Marcel |date=2023-05-01 |title=Chtějí převzít veškerý majetek Česka. Kdo jsou lidé obsazující státní budovy |language=Czech |work=Seznam Zprávy |url=https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-zivot-v-cesku-chteji-prevzit-veskery-majetek-ceska-kdo-jsou-lide-obsazujici-statni-budovy-230151 |access-date=2023-05-25}}</ref>

===Singapore===

Sovereign citizen ideology has surfaced in Singapore, but it is not as widespread there as in some other countries. Two prominent cases have highlighted this phenomenon:

* During the COVID-19 pandemic, Paramjeet Kaur, called the "Shunfu mart woman" by local media, gained notoriety for refusing to wear a mask and arguing with safe-distancing ambassadors. She cited sovereign citizen-like beliefs, claiming that the regulations did not apply to her. She was jailed for two weeks and fined S$2,000.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Louisa Tang  |date=2021-05-07 |title= Covid-19: 'Sovereign' woman who refused to wear mask at Shunfu Mart gets 2 weeks' jail, S$2,000 fine  |language=en |website= [[CNA (TV network)|Channel News Asia]] |url=https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/covid-19-sovereign-woman-who-refused-wear-mask-shunfu-mart-gets-2-weeks-jail-s2000-fine|access-date=2025-02-09}}</ref>  

*In 2023, Tarchandi Tan was convicted on multiple charges, including contempt of court and causing intentional harassment. She had repeatedly refused to comply with court orders, insisting that she was not bound by Singaporean law and invoking sovereign citizen rhetoric.<ref>{{Cite news  |date=2023-07-18 |title= 'Sovereign' woman convicted of failing to go to police station and court, spitting at police  |language=en |website= [[CNA (TV network)|Channel News Asia]] |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/tarchandi-sovereign-convicted-lee-hui-yin-defy-order-court-3635766 |access-date=2025-02-09}}</ref>  

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Law}}

===Violent incidents===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
 
* 1995 [[Oklahoma City bombing]]
* [[2003 standoff in Abbeville, South Carolina]]
* 2009 [[assassination of George Tiller]]
* [[2010 West Memphis police shootings]]
* 2014 [[Bundy standoff]]
* 2016 [[occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge]]
* [[2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers]]
* 2016 [[shooting of Korryn Gaines]]
* 2018 [[Nashville Waffle House shooting]]
* 2021 [[Wakefield standoff|Wakefield, Massachusetts standoff]]
* 2021 [[Waukesha Christmas parade attack]]
* 2022 [[Wieambilla police shootings]]
{{Div col end}}

===Groups===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[American militia movement]]
* [[Christian Patriot movement]]
* [[Citizens for Constitutional Freedom]]
* [[Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association]]
* [[Embassy of Heaven]]
* [[Family Farm Preservation]]
* [[Guardians of the Free Republics]]
* [[Kingdom Filipina Hacienda]]
* [[Montana Freemen]]
* [[Moorish sovereign citizens]]
* [[Patriot movement]]
* [[Posse Comitatus (organization)|Posse Comitatus movement]]
* [[Sitcomm Arbitration Association]]
* [[Swissindo]]
* [[Washitaw Nation]]
{{Div col end}}

===Individuals===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Dennis Alexio]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-hid-1_13-cr-01017/pdf/USCOURTS-hid-1_13-cr-01017-2.pdf|title=ORDER EXPLAINING COURT'S TERMINATION OF DEFENDANT'S SELF-REPRESENTATION|date=April 18, 2016|author= |website=govinfo.gov |access-date=March 26, 2024}}</ref>
* [[Edward and Elaine Brown]]<ref name="FBI2011" />
* [[Schaeffer Cox]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Schaeffer Cox, 'sovereign citizen' |date=September 30, 2016 |url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-beat/article/schaeffer-cox-sovereign-citizen/2010/12/23/ |work=[[Anchorage Daily News]] |access-date=January 8, 2020}}</ref>
*[[Romana Didulo]]<ref name="conversationsarteschi"/> 
* [[William Potter Gale]]<ref name="adl"/>
* [[John Joe Gray]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Johnson |first=Kevin |title=Anti-government 'sovereign movement' on the rise in U.S. |date=March 30, 2012 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-30/anti-government-militia-groups-freeman/53873496/1 |work=[[USA Today]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305081638/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-30/anti-government-militia-groups-freeman/53873496/1 |access-date=January 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Gordon Kahl]]<ref name="ascendant"/>
*[[Guylaine Lanctôt]]<ref name="dangereuse"/>
* [[Richard Marple]]<ref name="marple"/> 
* [[David Wynn Miller]]<ref name="ozy2020"/>
* [[Sean David Morton]]<ref name="swindle"/>
* [[Terry Nichols]]<ref name="adl"/>
* [[Gavin Seim]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Gavin Seim's Anti-Government Antics Get Him Arrested — Again |date=August 24, 2017 |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/08/24/gavin-seim%E2%80%99s-anti-government-antics-get-him-arrested-%E2%80%94-again |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|access-date=November 22, 2022}}</ref>
* [[Glenn Unger]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Gavin |first=Robert |title=Prison for anti-tax activist who was once a child star |date=April 22, 2014 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Prison-for-anti-tax-activist-who-was-once-a-child-5417823.php |work=[[Times Union (Albany)|Albany Times Union]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115171607/https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Prison-for-anti-tax-activist-who-was-once-a-child-5417823.php |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=November 15, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}

===Concepts===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Anarcho-capitalism]]
* [[Anarchism and nationalism]]
* [[Anomie]]
* [[Anti-Federalism]]
* [[Antinomianism]]
* [[Consent of the governed]]
* [[Debt evasion]]
* [[Declarationism]]
* [[Individualist anarchism]]
* [[National-anarchism]]
* [[Paleoconservatism]]
* [[Paleolibertarianism]]
* [[Radical right (United States)]]
* [[Right-libertarianism]]
* [[Self-ownership]]
* [[Social contract]]
* [[Sovereignty]]
* [[Statelessness]]
* [[Tax resistance in the United States]]
* [[White supremacy]]

===Other===
*[[Eumeswil]]
*[[Freedomites]]
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Pometto |first=Joe |date=2020 |title=Sovereign Citizens: Deconstructing, Decoding and Deflating the World's Most Notorious Anti-Government Movement |publisher=Independently published |isbn=979-8-6545-1734-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sarteschi |first=Christine M. |date=2020 |title=Sovereign Citizens: A Psychological and Criminological Analysis |url=https://dokumen.pub/sovereign-citizens-a-psychological-and-criminological-analysis-1st-ed-9783030458508-9783030458515.html |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-45850-8}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Sarteschi |first1=Christine M. |date=September 2021 |title=Sovereign Citizens: A Narrative Review with Implications of Violence Towards Law Enforcement |journal=Aggression and Violent Behavior |volume=60 |page=101509 |doi=10.1016/j.avb.2020.101509 |pmid=32994748 |pmc=7513757}}
* {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=John L. |date=2021 |title=Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens: The Endless War over the West's Public Lands |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=978-1-948908-90-0}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* [https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/www.sog.unc.edu/files/Sov%20citizens%20quick%20guide%20Nov%2013.pdf "A quick guide to Sovereign Citizens"] (UNC School of Government)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071014194401/http://adl.org/mwd/common.asp "Common Law and Uncommon Courts: An Overview of the Common Law Court Movement"], [[Mark Pitcavage]], ''The Militia Watchdog Archives'', [[Anti-Defamation League]], July 25, 1997.
* [https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2010/sovereigns-dictionary-peculiar The Sovereigns: A Dictionary of the Peculiar], [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], August 1, 2010
* [https://www.police1.com/police-products/investigation/articles/what-cops-need-to-know-about-sovereign-citizen-encounters-JH4gyxhtZM2NrN16/ What cops need to know about sovereign citizen encounters] (''PoliceOne'')
* [https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/april/sovereigncitizens_041310 FBI page on the Sovereign Citizen movement]
* [https://www.policemag.com/340836/sovereign-citizens-a-clear-and-present-danger Sovereign Citizens: A Clear and Present Danger] (''Police'' magazine)
* "[https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/sovereign-citizen-movement-united-states Sovereign Citizen Movement]"—Anti-Defamation League
* "[https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement Sovereign Citizen Movement]—[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_y-gLm9Hrw SPLC's Video Informing Law Enforcement on the Dangers of "Sovereign Citizens"]
* [https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/downloads/JMB%20Sovereign%20Citizens.pdf ''Without Prejudice: What Sovereign Citizens Believe''] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204124146/https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/downloads/JMB%20Sovereign%20Citizens.pdf |date=February 4, 2022 }}), [[J.M. Berger]], GWU Program on Extremism, June 2016

{{Conspiracy theories}}
{{Tax resistance}}

[[Category:Sovereign citizen movement| ]]
[[Category:Anti-Federalism]]
[[Category:Antisemitism in the United States]]
[[Category:Common law]]
[[Category:Crime in the United States]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in the United States]]
[[Category:Social movements in the United States]]
[[Category:Terrorism in the United States]]
[[Category:QAnon]]