Sovereign Citizens Pt 1: The Secret Twin Theory
Odd, non-graphic true-crime stories and courtroom curiosities.
The story
The Oregon Historical Society says it began in 1969 with a Portland man and an idea. The county sheriff outranks everybody. Scholars say it came wrapped in racist and anti-Semitic ideas. Later, promoters sold redemption kits. Your name in capital letters is a strawman with a secret treasury account. Well, mine must be misplaced. *[ad-lib]* But how many are dumb enough to believe it? Nobody's got an official count, but a watchdog group says as many as 350 to 400,000 fall for this. *[ad-lib "fall for this"]* But those are just estimates, and they're disputed. It runs from the curious and the ticket dodgers to folks who bought paperwork kits and a small fringe the FBI calls violent extremists.
An Australian parliamentary paper says most aren't violent. *[script also had "most people turn to it when they hit a problem, like a fine"; not read]* That paper also says no court in the world has accepted these arguments. Best advice? Just pay the ticket. *[script: "Pay the ticket."]*