‘Sovereign Citizens’

Training for: Legal Notes

From time to time we hear of private individuals claiming to be exempt from all laws, taxes, orders and proceedings of any governmental entity – in other words, to be above the law. At the local level this notion manifests itself most often in the refusal to pay property taxes or comply with land use regulations. These individuals are frequently self-described as “sovereign citizens” or sometimes “freemen” or simply “common law citizens.”

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose-knit, nationwide collection of far-right, anti-government individuals with origins in the late 1960s white extremist group “Posse Comitatus.” Sovereign citizens can be difficult to identify since there is no single organization, group leader, membership list or common set of beliefs. In fact there are all sorts of sovereign legal theories being peddled these days – in books, at seminars, and (of course) on the internet, and many of them contradict each other. The one thing all sovereigns seem to share (aside from their peculiar fascination with the capitalization of words and their grandiose use of legalese) is the belief that government is not real or legitimate and that they can pick and choose which laws to obey.

This of course is complete and utter nonsense – no one is above the law. The nation’s courts have uniformly rejected such claims as frivolous and fanciful. Nevertheless, there is some evidence the movement has grown in recent years, at least in certain parts of the country. This is hardly a surprise given the hyper-divisiveness of the past decade and the fertile ground of social media. But local officials should rest assured that everyone is subject to governmental authority, including the obligation to pay taxes if taxable and to obey all applicable laws – no exceptions.

Whenever we’ve been asked by local officials about how to deal with sovereign citizens, our advice has always been the same: Be firm but civil. State your position clearly. Don’t argue or engage in extended debate. Keep your cool. Follow all procedures and protocols consistently, the same as in any other case. And in any face-to-face encounter, if possible have a witness, and if necessary, a law enforcement officer.

Incidentally, one of the movement’s favorite forms of harassment is to file false liens against the property of government officials. (Liens adversely impact property and owners in a variety of ways; clearing up false liens can be expensive and time-consuming.) In Maine, as a direct result of this malicious practice, it is now both a civil and criminal offense to file a false lien against a public official or employee (see 14 M.R.S.A. § 8601 and 17-A M.R.S.A. § 706-A, respectively). (By R.P.F.)

From time to time we hear of private individuals claiming to be exempt from all laws, taxes, orders and proceedings of any governmental entity – in other words, to be above the law. At the local level this notion manifests itself most often in the refusal to pay property taxes or comply with land use regulations. These individuals are frequently self-described as “sovereign citizens” or sometimes “freemen” or simply “common law citizens.”

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose-knit, nationwide collection of far-right, anti-government individuals with origins in the late 1960s white extremist group “Posse Comitatus.” Sovereign citizens can be difficult to identify since there is no single organization, group leader, membership list or common set of beliefs. In fact there are all sorts of sovereign legal theories being peddled these days – in books, at seminars, and (of course) on the internet, and many of them contradict each other. The one thing all sovereigns seem to share (aside from their peculiar fascination with the capitalization of words and their grandiose use of legalese) is the belief that government is not real or legitimate and that they can pick and choose which laws to obey.

This of course is complete and utter nonsense – no one is above the law. The nation’s courts have uniformly rejected such claims as frivolous and fanciful. Nevertheless, there is some evidence the movement has grown in recent years, at least in certain parts of the country. This is hardly a surprise given the hyper-divisiveness of the past decade and the fertile ground of social media. But local officials should rest assured that everyone is subject to governmental authority, including the obligation to pay taxes if taxable and to obey all applicable laws – no exceptions.

Whenever we’ve been asked by local officials about how to deal with sovereign citizens, our advice has always been the same: Be firm but civil. State your position clearly. Don’t argue or engage in extended debate. Keep your cool. Follow all procedures and protocols consistently, the same as in any other case. And in any face-to-face encounter, if possible have a witness, and if necessary, a law enforcement officer.

Incidentally, one of the movement’s favorite forms of harassment is to file false liens against the property of government officials. (Liens adversely impact property and owners in a variety of ways; clearing up false liens can be expensive and time-consuming.) In Maine, as a direct result of this malicious practice, it is now both a civil and criminal offense to file a false lien against a public official or employee (see 14 M.R.S.A. § 8601 and 17-A M.R.S.A. § 706-A, respectively). (By R.P.F.)