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More than 100 weapons have been seized in raids targeting so-called “sovereign citizens” after the shooting deaths of two police officers in another state.
West Australian authorities have warned that no-one should consider themselves above the law after acting on multiple tip-offs by “responsible” gun owners before carrying out the five-day operation.
Forty-four gun licences were suspended or cancelled after WA Police visited 70 addresses, while seven people were charged with 18 offences relating to firearms storage.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the fatal shootings of two officers in Victoria prompted a review of licensed firearm holders “whose beliefs align with sovereign citizen ideology”.
Self-proclaimed sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman has been on the run since August 26 after allegedly shooting dead officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart as they served a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah.
Blanch said some might see the weapons crackdown as being obsessive, but an “unprecedented” six officers had been killed by firearms while attending private properties.
“We lost two in Queensland, two in Victoria, one in South Australia and one in Tasmania,” he said.
Sovereign citizens generally believe governments are illegitimate and they are not subject to existing laws. They often promote anti-government views and resist paying taxes, parking fines and rates.
The operation was “not without risk, but its successful completion reduces future risk to our community and our blue family”, Blanch said.
“A substantial portion of the intelligence we used to inform this operation came from responsible members of our firearms community here in WA, who came to us with concerns about the behaviours of a very small number of firearm owners,” he said.
Police Minister Reece Whitby said the risk of professed sovereign citizens possessing guns was far too high.
“How on earth can the state of Western Australia entrust those people with the responsibilities for being a lawful gun owner?” he said.
“If you believe you don’t have to abide by the law of Western Australia, then there is no way you can be considered a fit and proper person to be able to hold a licence to own and possess a firearm.”
