Footage has captured a bizarre encounter between Queensland Police officers and a sovereign citizen who was stopped for driving an unregistered vehicle.
When police officers told him they were doing a ‘registration and license check’, he handed her a sheet of paper and said, ‘You’re being served (with) a document of mine for any unlawful detainment.’
According to the man, any ‘unlawful detainment, apprehension, or arrest’ would incur a fee of $10,000 per hour.
As confusion mounted, the sovereign citizen’s claims became even more bizarre.
He insisted his car was registered under ‘international law,’ not Queensland law, and described the vehicle as being ‘in dry dock.’
The female officer, still bemused, made a radio call to verify his claims.
The sovereign citizen argued that the registration wasn’t in their system because it was ‘private’.
‘You don’t realise this, but everything’s changed since 2020. You know we are currently in martial law. I own every part of this vehicle. I own the plates, I own the car, and it can’t be touched or tampered with, it’s my vehicle.’
He then went into the reasons sovereign citizens use for not registering their vehicles.
‘Everybody has their own right to travel and no one should try and stop them. Right now they’re contemplating whether they should continue down the path or not.
‘And they realise they’ve been served with my document now as well, which is making them question that too – how much an hour (in costs) do they want to be at and what do they want to go through.’
The footage ended with the police officers informing the sovereign citizen that he was ‘right to go,’ which led to speculation been let off without any penalties.
Many Aussies called out the sovereign citizen after viewing the footage.
‘The irony that this is all for his freedom but if he just registered his car like a normal person he wouldn’t get pulled over and wouldn’t have to go through this circus every time,’ one said.
A second added: ‘A cooker citing international law is … something else. Also for anyone playing at home, no international law does not register vehicles or vessels.’
A third added: ‘Imagine having to deal with this’.
Sovereign citizens believe the government is essentially a massive corporation and, therefore, illegitimate and without jurisdiction over them.
This concept is frequently explained to frustrated police officers when they are stopped in traffic or for breaking another law.
‘I don’t consent’ is a common phrase used by sovereign citizens when confronted by any form of law enforcement or authority.
Their deeply held belief in the legitimacy of their cause means that they are not concerned about hiding their identity from police.