The Michigan Court of Appeals recently upheld the conviction of “American National” April Lynn Anglemyer. The case, People v. Anglemyer, arose from her obstruction of law enforcement officers attempting to execute valid arrest warrants for her children.
On March 2, 2021, officers attempted to stop an off-road vehicle (ORV) traveling at excessive speed. The ORV’s passengers, Anglemyer’s son and daughter, ignored police orders and fled into their family home. Subsequent checks revealed that both had outstanding arrest warrants. When officers entered the residence to execute the warrants, they encountered Anglemyer and her husband physically blocking their path, preventing the arrests. The officers eventually arrested both parents for obstructing justice.
During the trial, Anglemyer and her husband asserted that they were “American Nationals,” claiming that U.S. laws did not apply to them. The court admitted statements and body camera footage where the couple insisted on their exemption from legal authority, ruling that this evidence was relevant to their intent in obstructing law enforcement.
A jury convicted Anglemyer of three counts of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer. On appeal, she argued that there was insufficient evidence to support her conviction, that the trial court improperly admitted the arrest warrants and testimony regarding her “American National” beliefs, and that she received ineffective assistance of counsel. The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected each of these claims, affirming her conviction. The court ruled that the officers acted lawfully in attempting to execute the arrest warrants and that Anglemyer’s physical obstruction constituted a clear violation of state law. Additionally, her counsel’s delayed filing of a motion to exclude evidence was deemed inconsequential, as the evidence was properly admitted regardless.
This case serves as yet another example of the courts rejecting sovereign citizen defenses. The ruling reinforces that beliefs in alternative legal theories do not exempt individuals from the rule of law. Anglemyer received a sentence of two days in jail and twelve months of probation, marking another failed attempt by the sovereign citizen movement to evade legal consequences.
Source: People v. Anglemyer, 2025 Mich. App. LEXIS 1958