Two sovereign citizens were apprehended by officers from the Volusia Sheriff’s Department in Florida during a traffic stop. The incident occurred when a man’s partner arrived at the scene to argue with the police officers. The officers initiated the traffic stop on Saturday after noticing allegedly fake paper plates on a truck driven by Detry Wogerman. In the original 11-minute video captured by the officers’ body cameras, the officer who initiated the stop immediately identified the truck as a potential sovereign citizen to dispatch.
Sovereign citizens are a group of individuals who believe in pseudo-legal concepts that exempt them from following any rules or laws. They consider themselves separate from their official identity and often return their social security cards to the Social Security office in an attempt to establish their status as unique citizens answerable only to themselves. To avoid vehicle registration, they frequently use counterfeit license plates. Traffic stops have become an opportunity for them to express their personal philosophy to law enforcement officers. However, despite their belief in magic words that should prevent arrests, they are still apprehended. Following their arrest, sovereign citizens often inundate the court system with frivolous paperwork, refuse to acknowledge the court’s authority to impose fines or jail time, and even attempt to charge the police for their time.
Unfortunately, these encounters with sovereign citizens do not always end peacefully. Earlier this year, police fatally shot a sovereign citizen with a fake license plate during a traffic stop that turned violent when the driver refused to exit the vehicle and appeared to reach for a weapon. In 2021, a group of Black sovereign citizens engaged in a prolonged standoff with the police after their vehicle broke down on the way to a private “training” facility.
These incidents highlight the dangers and complexities faced by law enforcement officers when dealing with sovereign citizens. It is crucial for officers to remain vigilant and exercise caution during such encounters.
