I’m now adding Spain to my list of countries in which there are apparently sovereign citizens. The Guardian is reporting that a Spanish man who had eaten hash cakes before being pulled over by the police for erratic driving tried to convince officers that he had immunity because he was a diplomat for an “individual and mobile” republic.
He presented the officers with documents including a drivers license and an ID card from the ‘Errant Republic of Menda Lerenda.’
The “republic” indicates that it is a “individual and mobile sovereignty recognised by other states capable of acting with complete independence in strict compliance with international law.”
As sovereigns tend to do traffic stops, the driver ignored the officer’s repeated requests to show legitimate identification. He was also apparently very disrespectful to them. He would continually claim to have immunity on the grounds that he was a member of a sovereign diplomatic service.
According to The Guardian the ‘Republic of Errant Menda Lerenda” is a micronation that supposedly officially began in 1999. They define “an individual person as an independent republic in themselves and recognizes their national territory as the space they occupy at “each moment.”
For a fee, you can buy certified identification as a sovereign republic from their website.