Deadly Standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco, Texas

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After the deadly standoffs at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992 and Waco, Texas, in 1993, the extreme right experienced a considerable resurgence, to include a rise in numbers and activities within the sovereign citizens. This activity included acts of violence, usually against representatives of the government that sovereign citizens so hated. Over the next five years, sovereign citizen organization took to violent actions involving armed stand-offs, shoot-outs with law enforcement, and kidnapping of local citizens. Regardless of the pattern of violent activity that occurred over the years, the sovereign citizen movement still preferred to use fraudulent and harassment activities, which was known as "paper terrorism." The “sovereign citizen” movement is an anti-government extremist group that believes that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or “sovereign” from the United States. As a result, they believe they don’t have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities, motor vehicle departments, or law enforcement. Sovereign citizens are more of a nuisance for law enforcement and the government than anything else. Being capable of committing assault and even murder, sovereign citizens tend to lean more towards fraudulent and harassment activities. Generating fake warrants for government and law enforcement professionals, filing false lawsuits congesting the court systems, and impersonating government officials are just a few examples of how sovereign citizens harass federal employees. Sovereign citizens also use fake currency, checks/money orders, driver’s license, and mortgages at government locations such as agencies, banks and businesses to add to their long list of crimin...

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... potential scams, spot illegal activity and understand its potential severity, and be prepared for and protect against violent behavior or backlash through intimidation and harassment.

Bibliography
ADL. “Sovereign Citizen Movement.” 2010. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://archive.adl.org/learn/ext_us/scm.html?xpicked=4.
FBI. “Domestic Terrorism the Sovereign Citizen Movement.” April 13, 2010. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/april/sovereigncitizens_041310.
FBI. “Sovereign Citizens a Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement.” September, 2011. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/september-2011/sovereign-citizens.
MacNab, JJ. “What Is a Sovereign Citizen?” Forbes. February 13, 2012. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2012/02/13/what-is-a-sovereign-citizen/.

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