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Showing posts with the label don’t be trapped

The so-called “sovereign citizen” movement has wrecked lives, shattered families, and led far too many straight into prison cells.

I’ve spent decades around principled, conservative Americans who love the Constitution and cherish liberty. At some gatherings, people show films and clips tracing our nation’s founding, exposing early financial corruption, and detailing how control of our monetary system shifted from public to private hands. There’s some disturbing truth in that history, no question. But where the movement veers off the rails is in its legal fantasyland, a place no court in this country takes seriously. Despite the slick rhetoric and seductive promise of freedom from taxes, licenses, and legal responsibility, the cold truth is this: the courts have repeatedly shut down these theories. Every time. Let’s talk names. Winston Shrout, one of the movement’s more vocal figureheads, was convicted in 2017 of issuing fake financial instruments — worthless documents he claimed could discharge debts. He’s now doing ten years in federal prison. Heather Ann Tucci-Jarraf, a former attorney turned sovereign adher...