Mr. Warren Parks, housed in an Indiana prison, was assigned to work as a law library clerk at a correctional facility. He was eventually removed from position after it became known that sovereign citizens are classified as a security threat group (STG), are considered a prison gang, and was therefore let go.
They knew that he was a sovereign citizen when he was hired on the job. What they didn’t know is that this particular group is considered, in this particular prison, as being a prison gang. He appealed losing his position on the basis of his First Amendment right to join such a group.
The court noted: “the court recognizes that STGs are prison gangs and prison gangs are a manifest threat to prison order and discipline and are therefore incompatible with any penological system because they serve to undermine prison security.”
As such, his case has been dismissed.