[Music] may the 20th 2010 started out like any other day two veterans of our west memphis arkansas police department bill evans and brandon powdert were patrolling the interstate as part of the department's drug and addiction team something they loved to do they became involved in what seemed to be a routine traffic stop though i've always warned my officers there is no such thing but really how much more routine can you get than pulling over a father and son in what looked like a church bus my men didn't realize who or what they were dealing with neither officer made it home and one of them was my son i'm bob powder chief of the west memphis police department my officer is building my son brandon didn't realize that there are people at war with this country that are not international terrorists there are seemingly ordinary people just like you and me but they don't recognize the federal government's authority to impose laws or taxes on them they're known as sovereign citizens their beliefs may sound so out there that they appear comical or crazy but don't discount or ignore these people because they are willing to kill and be killed for these beliefs we as law enforcement officers need to recognize this very real threat so we can protect ourselves and maybe if brandon and bill have been able to recognize the warning signs of sovereign beliefs that'd be alive today in 1995 168 men women and children were killed in the worst domestic terrorist attack on american soil in our nation's history aimed at the federal government and law enforcement the bombing in oklahoma city was the horrific symbol of the wave of anti-government sentiment that swept across the country in the 1990s i'm retired atf special agent in charge james cavanaugh i spent more than 30 years with the bureau of alcohol tobacco firearms and explosives and i was there at the beginning of the so-called patriot movement i watched in 1992 as the standoff between law enforcement and a white separatist randy weaver in ruby ridge idaho ended with the deaths of a federal marshal and weaver's wife and son i was there in the shootout the next year when david koresh and one of seventy of his followers along with four atf agents died in a fiery siege near waco texas what we didn't understand at first was that these events were a catalyst a catalyst for the growth of a radical any government movement a catalyst for the birth of armed militias at its height there were more than 800 of these anti-government groups throughout the country some were part of what is called the sovereign citizen movement they believe the government has no right to tax or impose laws on them following law enforcement crackdowns after oklahoma city many any government groups disappeared but the threat from hardcore elements of the radical right continued to simmer in fact between the oklahoma city bombing and the recent west memphis shootings approximately 30 law enforcement officers lost their lives to homegrown extremists two officers were killed in abbeville south carolina in 2003 for example by extremists who did not believe the government had any right to use a tiny portion of their land to widen the public road today the threat of radical right violence against police officers has escalated because the radical anti-government movement has swelled once again jerry and joe kane the father and son who were involved in the murders of the two officers in west memphis traveled around the country giving seminars on how to supposedly circumvent the legal system so what we're after here is not fighting it's conquering right i don't want to have to kill anybody but if they keep messing with me that's what it's going to have to come out that's what it's going to come down to is i'm going to have to kill and if i have to kill one then i'm not going to be able to stop i just know it i mean i have an addiction along with physical confrontations sovereigns also practice a form of harassment and intimidation often referred to as paper terrorism they file bogus claims or liens against officers prosecutors or judges that can be difficult to get removed from court records in 2010 alone sovereign citizens have filed liens cease and desist orders and documents called letters of mark or truth affidavits against officers and agencies across the country the following are some indicators that you as an officer need to be aware of to protect yourself there are signs that the person you've encountered considers himself to be a sovereign citizen who is immune from the law the first thing that any officer notices at a traffic stop is the vehicle's license plate if you try to call in many sovereign plates you'll find no record of them and for good reason they're either homemade or professionally produced fakes they may display the names of strange nations embassies or tribes they may refer to the uniform commercial code or the constitution bumper stickers are another easily visible sign of sovereign beliefs one that reads posse comitatus which is latin for power or force of the county means the driver believes county officials such as sheriffs are the highest level of law enforcement and that the federal government and its officers don't have any legal authority stickers such as i am an american national or not subject to corporate federal or corporate state jurisdiction are signs that the vehicle's occupants are part of the radical anti-government movement when asked for their driver's license vehicle registration or other identification sovereigns may show documents that at first might look legitimate but after a closer inspection are obviously fake the fake driver's license could have the words without prejudice ucc 1-207 a reference to the uniform commercial code what might look like a real social security card to you may actually read social security socialism in america still 100 voluntary for global domination and slavery not for identification sovereigns often will have unusual responses to routine questions about their identification or license plate if the officer asks the person's name a sovereign may respond i am a free man traveling upon the land or what authority do you have to question the sovereign if asked for a driver's license the person might say is one required of a sovereign or they might ask you for your delegation of authority if you continue questioning them they might say officer i do not believe i nor this private vehicle falls under your jurisdiction and here is the proof then they might show you what appear to be legal documents jerry kane handed west memphis officers brandon powder and bill evans some odd-looking papers powdered and evans didn't recognize the documents or understand what they meant many sovereign sign legal documents in red ink or with a thumb print in red ink the subject's name might be in all capital letters or have strange punctuation such as the first name then a hyphen then the middle name followed by a colon and the last name sovereigns believe this type of capitalization and punctuation shows they are immune from government authority some sovereigns may record their encounters with police possibly in an effort to intimidate the officers they might warn the officer that they are recording the encounter and then say something like i am reserving all of my common law rights some of these recordings showing the officers are then posted on the sovereign's websites now you have some knowledge on how sovereigns operate form a strategy within your department with your training section your tactical section and your commanders and be prepared to implement that strategy when you encounter sovereignty have a procedure where you your dispatchers and your colleagues all understand that you're dealing with a sovereign citizen a person who doesn't believe that you have any authority over them these tips are only a few of the signs of possible sovereign beliefs just recognizing one or two might mean that your work day will end like every other and you'll get to go home to your family hello where's your emergency exit 275 on 40. these guys just shot a police officer right on the exit you said that officer has been shot on the uh 270 what 375 on 4740 where are you right now i'm i have to actually go right in front of me about a hundred feet okay it's a white white it's a white caravan a white knight please hurry up oh my god what kind of are you in i'm gonna feel that truck you can't miss this it's here to come forward traffic [Music] jerry and joe kane were finally stopped for good after they killed my son and his partner that day but not before two other courageous officers were injured we as law enforcement professionals face danger every day we know that's part of our job hopefully this video is giving you some new tools to keep yourself safe no officer should have to die like brandon and bill [Music] you