Today the Southern Poverty Law Center issues a report on the growing "sovereign citizen" movement, a growing group of about 300,000 Americans who declare themselves completely exempt from the laws and controls of all governments, local, state and federal.
They call themselves sovereign citizens, U.S. residents who declare themselves above state and federal laws. Many don't register children's births, carry driver's licenses or recognize the court system. Some peddle schemes that use fictional legal loopholes to eliminate debt and avoid foreclosures. A few such believers are violent: Two police officers in Arkansas died in a shootout in May after stopping an Ohio sovereign citizen and his son. Hate group monitors say their numbers have increased thanks to the recession, the foreclosure crisis, the growth of the Internet and the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Adherents expect the current American system of government to end one way or another. "I'm the Patrick Henry of the 21st century. I'm here to regain our freedom," James McBride said in a jailhouse interview. "I'm going to, or die trying." At the heart of their belief system: The government creates a secret identity for each citizen at birth, a "straw man," that controls an account at the U.S. Treasury used as collateral for foreign debt. File enough documents at the right offices and the money in those accounts can be used to pay off debt or make purchases worth thousands of dollars.
We the People inhabiting the North American continent, free men and women convened under God, having been granted by the Creator dominion over all the earth, to restore the blessings of liberty for ourselves and the posterity, do hereby invoke our sacred right to alter or abolish destructive government as memorialized in The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, c. 1776 by declaring herewith this solemn declaration to the people of the earth and all governments and nations derived there from.
Militia members are gathering on a field just outside of Washington DC today in advance of their Second Amendment March on the Capitol. Outside DC city limits, they are allowed to openly brandish their weapons.
On the lineup are several heroes of the militia movement, including Mike Vanderboegh, who advocated throwing bricks through the windows of Democrats who voted for the health-care bill; Tom Fernandez, who has established a nationwide call tree to mobilize an armed resistance to any government order to seize firearms; and former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack, who refused to enforce the Brady law and then won a Supreme Court verdict that weakened its background-check provisions. Those coming to the "Restore the Constitution" rally give Obama no quarter for signing the law that permits them to bring their guns to Fort Hunt, run by the National Park Service, and to Gravelly Point on the banks of the Potomac River. Nor are they comforted by a broad expansion of gun rights in several states since his election. The brandishing of weapons is "not just an important symbol" but "a reminder of who we are," said Almond. "The founders knew that it is the tendency of government to expand itself and embrace its own power, and they knew the citizenry had to be reminded of that."
Not uncoincidentally, today's saber rattling towards our federal government comes on the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. JMG reader and federal employee Jimbo sends us the below photo of seven coworkers killed on that day. It hangs in the office of Jimbo's agency there.
Last night MSNBC's Ed Shultz ranted about the teabagger plan in Oklahoma to form an armed state militia to defend against the federal government. Crazy/scary OK state Sen. Randy Brogdon is running for governor and joins Shultz to "call for the restoration of Constitutional liberties."
Oklahoma teabaggers are working with politicians to form a state recognized volunteer militia to defend themselves against the federal government. Just in case, you know, somebody tries to make them obey the tyrannical health care reform bill.
Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty. Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers. "Is it scary? It sure is," said tea party leader Al Gerhart of Oklahoma City, who heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"
Critics point out that the National Guard already exists as a state-level military force. Completely related to this whack story, the 15th anniversary of the bombing of Oklahoma City's federal building is this Monday.
The FBI is warning state governors today that recent letters sent by the militia group Guardians Of The Free Republics may provoke violence against them. The group has mailed letters to dozens of governors saying that if they don't resign, they'll be taken out by unnamed means.
The FBI expects all 50 governors will eventually receive such letters. Governors whose offices reported getting the letters included Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Chet Culver of Iowa, Dave Heineman of Nebraska, Jim Gibbons of Nevada, Brad Henry of Oklahoma, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Bob McDonnell of Virginia, and Gary Herbert of Utah, where officials stepped up security in response to the letter. In Nevada, screening machines for visitors and packages were added to the main entrance to the state Capitol as a precaution. "We're not really overly concerned, but at the same time we don't want to sit back and do nothing and regret it," Deputy Chief of Staff Lynn Hettrick said.
Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said federal authorities had alerted the governor that such a letter might be coming, and it arrived Monday or Tuesday. Boyd, who described the letter as "non-threatening," said it was opened by a staffer and immediately turned over to the Michigan State Police. Jindal's office confirmed that the governor had received one of the letters and directed questions to the Louisiana State Police. "They called us as they do for any letter that's out of the norm," said Lt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman. He declined to provide specifics about the letter, but said, "not knowing the group and the information contained in the letter warranted state police to review it." The FBI warning comes at a time of heightened attention to far-right extremist groups after the arrest of nine Christian militia members last weekend accused of plotting violence.
In the clip below, a supporter of the Guardians displays his weapons, talks about Barack Obama's birth certificate, and provides shopping advice about stocking food supplies for the coming civil war.
Today the Southern Poverty Law Center issues a report on the growing "sovereign citizen" movement, a growing group of about 300,000 Americans who declare themselves completely exempt from the laws and controls of all governments, local, state and federal. 
