A loosely organized political movement that believes the federal government is illegal and must be replaced is a “sensitive subject” that the FBI doesn’t want to discuss, the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming reports.
The group, known as the “sovereign citizens,” believes the U.S. government ceased to exist in 1871 and was replaced by an “unlawful money-making corporate system” that “subjugated people for everything from marriage and driver’s licenses to denying property rights through safety codes and federal ownership of land,” according to the paper.
An FBI spokesman tells the Star-Tribune that he “can neither confirm nor deny that an investigation (into the group) exists.” Though the group is not limited to Wyoming, it has found some traction there, with an independent gubernatorial candidate last year embracing the movement’s positions.
John Gramlich prepares the “Public Safety Beat” — a quick analysis of recent public safety news in state government. Click here to find Stateline’s daily roundup of crime, corrections and other public safety news.
