Hutaree

Judge Tosses Conspiracy Charges In Hutaree Militia Case

Ryan J. Reilly | March 27, 2012, 3:00PM

In a major blow to the federal case against members of the extremist Hutaree militia, a federal judge has thrown out conspiracy charges against all of the members, leaving five members of the group off the hook completely.

Two defendants -- accused ringleader David Stone Sr. and his son Joshua Stone, are still facing weapons charges, the Detroit Free Press reports. Nine members had originally been charged in a conspiracy to attack police and start a battle with federal authorities.

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B.J. Pak

States Get Serious In Confronting Sovereign Citizen Movement

Jillian Rayfield | February 28, 2012, 6:40AM

$4 billion liens against police officers. Bankruptcy proceedings against the United States government. Claims of grammar-based conspiracies or "backwards-correct-syntaxing-modification fraud."

Sovereign citizens have found bizarre and creative ways to use court filings and liens to harass public officials throughout the country -- and legislators in Georgia have had enough.

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Washington State

'Sovereign Citizen' Sues Prosecutors For Grammar-Based Conspiracy

Jillian Rayfield | February 15, 2012, 5:29PM

(Katherine Welles / Shutterstock)

A so-called sovereign citizen in Washington, recently sentenced to three years for threatening to "arrest" a local mayor, is now suing federal prosecutors for conspiring against him using poor grammar, or as he calls it, "backwards-correct-syntaxing-modification fraud."

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Schaeffer Cox

Judge Won't Toss Weapons Evidence In Schaeffer Cox Case

Jillian Rayfield | February 10, 2012, 5:14PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

A federal judge will not grant a motion by Schaeffer Cox and other alleged members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia to throw out evidence obtained from multiple searches, which turned up weapons that are key to the prosecution's case.

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Sovereign Citizens

British Man Using 'Sovereign Citizen' Tactics To Get Out Of Weapons Smuggling Charges

Jillian Rayfield | February 10, 2012, 1:30PM

A British man, who owned a company that sold weapons to the U.S. Department of Defense, is attempting to stall his extradition to America to face weapons smuggling charges by filing hundreds of pages of paperwork containing statements like "I deny that I am a person," and other language consistent with members of the sovereign citizen movement.

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Schaeffer Cox

Schaeffer Cox-Linked 'Sovereign Citizen' Gets 3.5 Years For $2.5 Million Tax Fraud

Jillian Rayfield | February 2, 2012, 1:57PM

(Katherine Welles / Shutterstock)

A sovereign citizen in Washington state, who calls himself the treasurer of the "Assemblies on the Counties at Large," was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for defrauding the IRS out of more than $2.5 million.

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Sovereign Citizens

Jailed Sovereign Citizen Convicted For Tax Fraud, After IRS Mails $327K Refund To Prison

Jillian Rayfield | January 31, 2012, 5:39AM

A prison inmate in upstate New York was convicted on 11 counts of tax fraud after he filed -- and partially received -- tax returns worth around $890 million, using techniques he says he learned off of a sovereign citizen website.

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Schaeffer Cox

Alaska Sovereign Citizens Indicted On Murder Conspiracy Charges

Jillian Rayfield | January 24, 2012, 2:15PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francis "Schaeffer" Cox

Schaeffer Cox and two of his followers in the Alaska Peacemaker Militia appeared in court on Monday expecting to file more motions to dismiss the charges against them. Instead they were greeted with additional indictments by a federal grand jury charging them with conspiring to kill government officials, including law enforcement officers.

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Sovereign Citizens

Sovereign Citizen Guru And 'Rabbi' Arrested After Standoff With AZ Police

Jillian Rayfield | December 26, 2011, 10:23AM

Image from Frontpage / Shutterstock

A sovereign citizen leader and purported Rabbi was arrested after a standoff with police in Arizona, after he failed to appear in court to face charges for a $1.3 million money laundering scheme.

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Schaeffer Cox

Schaeffer Cox: FBI Informants Kidnapped Me, Turned My Life Into The Truman Show

Jillian Rayfield | December 22, 2011, 5:57AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox is asking the court to throw out FBI recordings made by a confidential informant because the informant took actions that were "analogous to kidnapping" and turned Cox's life into a version of the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show.

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Richard Ulloa

Sovereign Citizen Gets Five Years For Trillion-Dollar 'Paper Terrorism' Scheme

Jillian Rayfield | December 14, 2011, 3:23PM

A so-called sovereign citizen in New York was sentenced to five years for mail fraud after a "paper terrorism" scheme that involved sending bankers and public officials fake bills and liens worth trillions of dollars.

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Drones

ND Sheriff Used Predator Drone To Arrest 'Sovereign Citizens'

Jillian Rayfield | December 13, 2011, 11:59AM

MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft.

A family of "sovereign citizens" in North Dakota was arrested with the help of a predator drone, borrowed from border patrol agents by the local sheriff in an effort to avoid a standoff over some missing cows.

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Schaeffer Cox

Feds Call In Alleged Schaeffer Cox Associate As Material Witness

Jillian Rayfield | December 7, 2011, 12:40PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francis "Schaeffer" Cox

The FBI has served a material witness warrant to Michael O. Anderson, a former associate of Schaeffer Cox who was released from prison when the state dropped its charges against members of Cox's Alaska militia crew.

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Washington State

WA 'Sovereign Citizen' Gets Three Years For Threatening To 'Arrest' Mayor

Jillian Rayfield | December 5, 2011, 12:51PM

(Katherine Welles / Shutterstock)

A Washington "sovereign citizen" was sentenced to three years for threatening to "arrest" a local mayor, and telling her that resistance will be met "with all necessary force."

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Sovereign Citizens

WA 'Sovereign Citizen' Blamed The Rothschild Family For The Iraq War

Jillian Rayfield | December 2, 2011, 5:30AM

(Katherine Welles / Shutterstock)

A sovereign citizen in Washington state was charged with filing false tax liens against a number of state officials, and is accused of describing his plans to petition "off-duty" Supreme Court justices to try to get his business partner released from prison.

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Bill Fulton

The Strange Case Of The FBI's Second Schaeffer Cox Informant

Jillian Rayfield | November 29, 2011, 12:29PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

Remember when Republican senate candidate Joe Miller hired a security team for that ill-fated campaign event at a public school last fall? Well, as it turns out, the head of the security team was moonlighting as a confidential informant infiltrating the Alaska militia movement for the FBI, in an effort that eventually helped lead to the arrest of Schaeffer Cox and his followers on weapons charges and an alleged plot to kill state officials.

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Schaeffer Cox

Schaeffer Cox & Co. Also Charged With Possessing Grenade Launcher

Jillian Rayfield | November 22, 2011, 6:10AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francis "Schaeffer" Cox

Schaeffer Cox and two members of his Alaska militia were indicted on two additional federal weapons charges for possessing grenades and a grenade launcher.

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Sovereign Citizens

Schaeffer Cox-Linked 'Sovereign Citizen' Admits He Filed $2.5M In False Tax Returns

Jillian Rayfield | November 9, 2011, 8:43AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

A "sovereign citizen" in Washington pleaded guilty to defrauding the IRS with around $2.5 million in phony tax returns, on behalf of unsuspecting clients of his tax preparation and bookkeeping business.

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Sovereign Citizens

AK Sovereign Citizen Had Bomb-Making Instructions, Info On 'Remote Viewing'

Jillian Rayfield | November 7, 2011, 11:49AM

A 'sovereign citizen' and member of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia was arrested for illegally possessing a firearm when attempting to cross into Canada, and was found with instructions on how to make pipe bombs, information on carrying concealed firearms and lists of websites that teach "remote viewing."

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Alabama

Sovereign Citizen 'Governor' And 'Christian Princess' Convicted Of Tax Fraud

Ryan J. Reilly | November 4, 2011, 6:38PM

An Alabama couple who considered themselves sovereign citizens -- who required their tenants to pay rent in silver coins and buried $350,000 worth of gold coins in their backyard -- were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and three counts of tax evasion on Friday.

Monty Ervin and Patricia Ervin, owners and managers of Southern Realty, amassed "hundreds of investment properties over the last decade, receiving more than $9 million in rental income," but paid nothing in federal income taxes, according to the Justice Department.

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Sovereign Citizens

Schaeffer Cox-Linked 'Sovereign Citizens' In WA Accused Of Threatening To Abduct Officials

Jillian Rayfield | October 26, 2011, 6:05AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

Several "sovereign citizens" in Washington State, who call themselves "County Rangers," are under investigation for various tax fraud charges and allegedly threatening to abduct law enforcement officials.

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Sovereign Citizens

Alaska Judge Tosses Evidence In Schaeffer Cox Militia Case

Jillian Rayfield | October 18, 2011, 10:56AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

An Alaska judge barred prosecutors from using over 100 hours of electronic surveillance in the trial of Schaeffer Cox of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, who allegedly stockpiled weapons as part of a plot to kill state officials.

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Sovereign Citizens

'Sovereign Citizen' And Radio Host Convicted Of Impersonating Investigator

Jillian Rayfield | October 7, 2011, 1:22PM

Randy "Due Process" Kelton and Deborah "Grand Jury" Stevens of Rule of Law Radio

An Austin "sovereign citizen," known as Randy "Due Process" Kelton on his "Rule of Law" radio show, was sentenced to one year in prison for impersonating an investigations company officer without a license, in order to give evidence to a grand jury.

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Schaeffer Cox

AK Militia Suspects Want Trial Moved From Anchorage Because It's Too Much Like Seattle

Jillian Rayfield | September 20, 2011, 8:30AM

Schaeffer Cox

Lawyers for Schaeffer Cox and another member of the Fairbanks-based Alaska Peacemakers Militia have asked the court to move their trial from Anchorage because it's "a suburb of Seattle" and is "an environment alien to the accused."

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Marshall Home

'Sovereign Citizen' And Former Mayoral Candidate Indicted For Fraud After Posing As Fanny Mae

Jillian Rayfield | September 15, 2011, 6:05AM

Marshall Home

A federal grand jury in Tucson has indicted Marshall Home, a "sovereign citizen" and former candidate for Mayor of Tucson, on ten counts of mail fraud, bankruptcy fraud and wire fraud, after he and his partner allegedly posed as representatives of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac in order to acquire properties.

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Schaeffer Cox

Feds Say AK 'Sovereign Citizen' Militia Leader Boasted Of 'Nifty' Bombs, Lasers, Boats

Jillian Rayfield | September 12, 2011, 11:39AM

Schaeffer Cox

Federal officials say they first set their sights on Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox after a series of speeches he gave describing his plan to overthrow the government using a 3500-member militia, and weapons like bombs, lasers and and "all sorts of nifty stuff."

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Sovereign Citizens

AK Man Gets Reduced Sentence After Informing On Schaeffer Cox

Jillian Rayfield | July 28, 2011, 6:00AM

Schaeffer Cox

The identity of one of the two confidential informants in the Schaeffer Cox militia case was revealed this week after a judge reduced his sentence on several felony charges, as a reward for his help in bringing about the arrest of Cox and members of his Alaska Peacemakers Militia.

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Sovereign Citizens

'Sovereign Citizen' Wounded In Shoot-Out With Police Officer

Jillian Rayfield | July 26, 2011, 1:33PM

A Texas man who considers himself a "true natural living being" and a "sovereign citizen" was shot and wounded by a police officer after a shoot-out last week.

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Alaska

Attorneys For Schaeffer Cox Want Murder Conspiracy Charges Thrown Out

Jillian Rayfield | July 7, 2011, 2:05PM

Schaeffer Cox

Attorneys for Schaeffer Cox have asked a court to throw out murder conspiracy charges against their client, who is accused of plotting to kill a federal judge, because of the way the grand jury was conducted.

Cox, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen and leader of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, was arrested in March, along with Coleman Barney, Lonnie and Karen Vernon, and Michael O. Anderson, for allegedly stockpiling weapons as part of a plot to kill two Alaska State Troopers, an IRS employee, and the federal judge.

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Marshall Home

'Sovereign Citizen' Arrested After Trying To Place The U.S. In Bankruptcy

Jillian Rayfield | July 5, 2011, 1:39PM

Marshall Home

Marshall E. Home, a self-styled 'sovereign citizen' in Arizona and former Tucson mayoral candidate, has been arrested on two federal charges of making false claims related to a "business" he ran that purported to save homes from foreclosure.

The complaint alleges that Home also tried to place the U.S. in bankruptcy in March, and falsely claimed he had a claim of $3 billion against the federal government.

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Sovereign Citizens

'Sovereign Citizen' Thrown Out Of Pizza Chain Bankruptcy Hearings

Jillian Rayfield | June 29, 2011, 2:12PM

The bankruptcy hearings of the Giordano's Pizza chain in Chicago took a strange turn this week, when a sovereign citizen was thrown out of the courtroom after he made vague threats and caused what the judge called a "sideshow."

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Sovereign Citizens

'Sovereign Citizen' Killed After Trying To Steal Cop's Taser In Altercation

Jillian Rayfield | June 22, 2011, 5:45AM

A police officer investigating a domestic violence complaint shot and killed Arizona businessman William Foust, who is a sovereign citizen, during an altercation in which Foust allegedly tried to steal the officer's taser.

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Sovereign Citizens

'The Government In Genocide': TPM Talks With Some 'Sovereign Citizens'

Jillian Rayfield | June 13, 2011, 6:45AM

Ever wondered why sovereign citizens don't think the government is legit?

Us too...

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Sovereign Citizens

'Sovereign Citizen' Opens Fire On Store Because It Ran Out Of Crawfish

Jillian Rayfield | June 2, 2011, 12:54PM

Larry Wayne Kelly and a crawfish

A 'sovereign citizen' in Pensacola, Florida allegedly opened fire at a seafood market after learning that they had run out of crawfish.

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Sovereign Citizens

'Sovereign Citizen' Allegedly Sends White Powder To Feds Handling His Back Taxes Case

Jillian Rayfield | June 2, 2011, 9:31AM

A man in Colorado was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly sent a manila envelope filled with white powder to state officials who were handling his back taxes case.

The envelope, which contained what turned out to be baking soda, also contained a 32-page letter that disputed the charges, and used language associated with the sovereign citizen movement, according to prosecutors.

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Sovereign Citizens

Two AK Sovereign Citizens Lose Tax Case Which Allegedly Led To Plot To Kill Judge

Jillian Rayfield | May 31, 2011, 12:49PM

Lonnie and Karen Vernon, two sovereign citizens and militia members in Alaska, lost a court case over $180,000 in taxes they owe to the IRS, a case that allegedly led to a plot to kill a U.S. District Judge, an IRS employee, and two state troopers.

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Sovereign Citizens

Sovereign Citizen Resists Traffic Stop Arrest As A 'Free Citizen On A Free Highway'

Jillian Rayfield | May 18, 2011, 11:05AM

Michael Creath Jones

A sovereign citizen in Virginia was arrested and charged with five misdemeanors after a bizarre encounter with a state police officer where he called himself a "free citizen on a free highway" and gave multiple fake names.

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Sovereign Citizens

Sovereign Citizen Apologizes After Trillion-Dollar 'Paper Terrorism' Scheme

Jillian Rayfield | May 16, 2011, 12:17PM

A sovereign citizen in upstate New York apologized for harassing government officials with "paper terrorism," which resulted in a sentence of 21 months in federal prison for mail fraud.

Ed Parenteau was sentenced last week and ordered to pay about $8,000 to Ulster County, after he, along with two other sovereign citizens, was convicted of mail fraud after filing fake indictments and sending fake bills, totaling $1.24 trillion, to government officials. "I have learned my lesson and I will never do anything like this again," he told District Judge Thomas McAvoy Friday.

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Sovereign Citizens

Sovereign Citizen's Widow Sues Police For Gold Over Husband's Shootout Death

Jillian Rayfield | April 26, 2011, 8:40AM

Jerry Kane

A Florida woman is suing the police department in West Memphis, Arkansas for the deaths of her husband and stepson, who were killed in a shootout after opening fire on two police officers last year.

Donna Lee Wray-Kane filed a lawsuit in Florida District Court over what she calls "torture killings and civil rights violations," and is asking for damages of at least $75,000 each for the deaths of her husband and stepson -- to be paid in gold "at $38 per troy ounce," according to the complaint.

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Schaeffer Cox

Six AK Militia Suspects Appear In Court After Pleading Not Guilty To Alleged Plot To Kill Federal Judge

Jillian Rayfield | April 6, 2011, 2:47PM

Schaeffer Cox

All six of the Alaska militia members accused of plotting to kill two state troopers and a federal judge appeared together in court for the first time Tuesday, after five of them pleaded not guilty to the charges late last month.

Investigators said in a court filing last week that they have over 130 hours of audio and video recordings, among other evidence, garnered with the help of two confidential informants over a 10-month investigation of the suspects, who were members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia.

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