A couple (Elijah David Erlebach & Samantha Siong Ricks) has been charged with kidnapping and attempt and conspiracy in the abduction of a child from foster care by noncustodial parents. The couple are sovereign citizens as evidenced by:
- They had a non-valid license plate from “American National”
- Erlebach self identified as a sovereign citizen; would not give his date of birth
- Told arresting officers that he was not allowed to be detained or arrested
- Considered the kids to have been kidnapped by the foster parents/system (they weren’t)
in the vehicle, investigators found two fully loaded handgun magazines and a knife underneath Erlebach. In addition, they found three handguns, one assault rifle; all weapons were fully loaded with a round in the chamber. They also found survival gear, ballistic helmet, body armor, flex cuffs, handcuffs, and approximately 947 rounds of ammunition. A total of five cell phones were also located inside the vehicle.
Interestingly, five days before the kidnapping, investigators discovered a fax from the People’s Bureau of Investigation. The FBI notes that the PBI “describe themselves… as defending the Republic while exposing all levels of government corruption, breach of oath, and deprivation of rights of THE PEOPLE.” They are a sovereign citizen/constitutionalist type of group. One legal document was entitled “A Resolution by a Responsible Corporate Officer ” and another entitled “Ex Parte Petition for: Uniform Writ of Execution, Notice of Criminal Conviction, Demand for Settlement of Parties, Citizens Arrest – No Warrant Required.” The agent identified these as being frequently used by sovereign citizen groups to “threaten and intimidate government and law enforcement professionals.”
They also noticed there was a message written directly to the foster father that read “you must get your affairs in order and be prepared to plead for mercy before the tribunal.”
Court records also note that at the time of the kidnapping, the couple did not have legal custody of the child and had been referred to child protective services because of allegations of neglect and the children being exposed to drugs. In addition, Ricks had threatened to murder the child and her brother if CPS attempted to take her children.
This is a very serious case and thank goodness no one was harmed.
Just last month, a man with ties to the PBI was indicted.