We had intended on writing this article
almost a year ago. We were even
issued a preemptive threat from the individual who was to have been the subject of the article. However things in real life always seemed to get in the way and we just didn't get to it in a timely manner. But with the recent media attention on the Freeman movement in Canada we thought this was an issue that we could weigh in on now.
The Freeman movement could be said to have first manifested itself in a very public manner through the actions of
Gordan Kahl. Kahl, who was philosophically aligned with an early version of
sovereign citizenship, murdered three police officers before dying himself (killed by Sheriff Gene Matthews before he succumbed to his own injuries). The Freeman movement, or sovereign citizenship movement as it is better known as south of the border, is inexorably linked to the
militia movement of the 1990s; the most famous event involving American sovereign citizens was the
Montana Freeman standoff that lasted 81 days. More recent cases include
Edward and Elaine Brown,
Jerry and Joe Kane (who murdered Officers Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans during a routine traffic stop), and
Joseph Stack who, while not necessarily a Freeman himself, has been raised to the status of a martyr for his suicide attack on Austin, Texas IRS building which killed one person and injured 13 others.
Although it might be thought of as primarily an American phenomenon, the Freeman movement is active in Canada.
A recent article gives voice to the concern of the police regarding the Freeman movement in Canada:
