The Washington Times published an article today regarding the sovereign citizen movement, indicating that federal officials have noticed a resurgence over the past few years. These include both individuals referred to as sovereign citizens as well as American state nationals.
It is noteworthy that American state nationals was included in this report as they consistently say that they are not sovereign citizens.
This report is also interesting because it notes that the FBI has identified sovereign citizens as being one of its “top threats.”
“The FBI said the sovereign citizens’ belief that U.S. residents “are immune from government authority and laws” is a form of violent anti-government or anti-authority extremism, “one of the FBI’s top threats.”
I do not think the FBI has been statement of this nature for several years about this group. In fact, the article says that the FBI issued warnings about sovereign citizens in 2010 and 2011, and again in 2013 but that might have been the last time.
The article specifically mentions the newest iterations of sovereigns “American state nationals” which, according to the ADL, include prominent gurus, “David Straight, Bobby Lawrence, Anna Riezinger and Russell Jay Gould.”
You can read the article here.