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Sovereign citizens use “paper terrorism” to intimidate, harass Sedona public officials
Growth in the sovereign citizen movement in Sedona has led to bogus legal filings designed to intimidate and harass public officials, requests by court officials to increase building security and escalated tensions between the movement’s adherents and local police. City officials have publicly downplayed the movement’s growth, but their internal communications reveal an awareness of—and…
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Experts warn of radicalization pipeline as Sedona wellness communities, anti-government groups share space
Sedona’s iconic sandstone towers and mythic status as an anchor point of spiritual energy has drawn a global audience of wellness practitioners. But mixed within event schedules filled with drum circles and full moon ceremonies are trainings that weave together anti-government ideologies and improbable conspiracy theories, creating what experts are calling a pathway to radicalization.
‘Sovereign citizen’ filings flood Pima County, parallel national resurgence of controversial movement
Adherents of the sovereign citizen ideology have garnered a reputation for conflict with government officials and members of the public—conflicts that, in some cases, have turned violent. More commonly, they engage in so-called paper terrorism tactics, threatening and harassing people by inundating them with lawsuits and liens.
God-given rights: The nationwide spread of the ‘constitutional sheriff’
The Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Association has for years railed against gun control laws, COVID public health mandates and alleged election fraud, ultimately presenting the sheriff as the ultimate arbiter of law. The group, which experts have labeled anti-democratic and anti-government, has also spread its ideology across the nation, seeking to become more mainstream…
‘Constitutional Sheriffs’ ideology expands to county government
In an expansion of its ideology that pushes a supreme authority for county sheriffs, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is encouraging a nascent movement of so-called “constitutional counties.” The movement builds off of Second Amendment sanctuary counties in an attempt to shift power away from the state and federal government and into the…
California nonprofit linked to constitutional sheriff group
The Gorilla Learning Institute uses its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit to help fund other groups’ activities, including the Friends of CSPOA, a California chapter of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. The institute is led by Sacramento County Board Supervisors member Sue Frost, who says its name references the gorilla as a peaceful,…
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