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The perception of “sovereign citizens” as quirky individuals challenging parking tickets by claiming law enforcement has no authority has evolved significantly, according to a recent think tank report.
In both Australia and abroad, extremists linked to this ideology have committed violent crimes. The movement gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic as people resisted lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccination requirements, leading to a surge in new followers.
One such individual even attempted to arrest a magistrate and several police officers during a court appearance in Wangaratta Magistrates Court.
Freeman, who is currently evading capture and whom police speculate may be deceased, identified himself as a “sovereign citizen.”
The study highlights Freeman’s alleged actions and other threats against public officials as indicators of the urgent need for stronger measures against a movement that has expanded to 26 countries, primarily via online platforms.
“Meaningful action is needed to reduce this global spread of harmful online content,” the researchers warn.
The researchers say the creation of a global database could help track information on sovereign citizen online influencers, because their ideology is spread by websites, social media posts, online forums and encrypted messaging platforms.
Governments could also work with tech giants, such as Meta and Microsoft, through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to redesignate ‘sovereign citizen’ networks as designated terrorist entities online.
If this happened, it would enable tech companies to scrub accounts from their platforms and improve monitoring them.
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