In reading through some court records, I found a number of decisions related to sovereign citizens attempting a variety of tactics to get out of trouble. A few notable ones from the week:
- Anthony Armell Best, a prisoner without a lawyer, tried to sue the Lake County courts. He asked that he be immediately released and give $5 million dollars for false imprisonment. His main argument is: “that he is falsely imprisoned because his name on the documents in the state court proceeding is “ANTHONY ARMELL BEST,” but his true name is “Anthony Armell Best©,” as he is a “Flesh and Blood Being Trustee Secured Party Creditor of the United States of America.” The court notes that he did not name a proper defendant and sovereign citizen theories are to be “rejected summarily, however they are presented.” The case was dismissed.
- Devote King, a non-prisoner, sued the state of Nebraska, the city of Aurora, Nebraska, etc., for impounding his vehicle. This is the third lawsuit of this exact nature. He argues that “No state in the usa have the right to force me to acquire a motor vehicle license and registration against my consent”; “I’m not a resident i don’t have an ID and i don’t consent to my property being registered and i want the full restoration of property no statute code or act can take away rights protected by the constitution.” It was recognized as a sovereign citizen argument and dismissed.
- Multiple pro se defendants sue regarding trusts: Queen Naja’s (“Naja”) and pro se Plaintiff Natalia Dominique Ince’s (“Ince”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) Complaints and proposed Complaints for Civil Action, moving for revocation and liquidation of the Naja Talibah Zahir Social Security and Cestui Que Trusts (“the Zahir trusts”). The court recognizes these lawsuits as frivolous and notes that it has all of the hallmarks of the sovereign citizen movement. In this suit, there are many claims made, but this one I found to be the most interesting. Naja sued 11 people, mostly Maryland and Virginia state officials who “trespassed. . . with insufficient and bogus charges and abducted” her for 102 days. Naja alleges that, on November 19, 2019, the Loudon County Sheriff’s Department, “by and through. . . a [BMW] dealership used to orchestrate and [sic] abduction operation,” abducted and detained her for fifty-one days. During that time, Loudon Sheriff’s “tied Queen Naja up in chains and under coercion and duress commanded Queen Naja to sign unlawful financial documents…Furthermore, Naja alleges she was then undressed and placed in a cold temperature room with bright light beaming down for three (3) continuous days. . . causing severe anxiety, high blood pressure and trauma to the heart organ.” The case (in all its complexity) was dismissed without prejudice.