The Department of Justice Defines the Patriot Movement

From the Department of Justice
Investigating Terrorism and Criminal Extremism

Here are some of the terms and concepts from our Department of Justice that you may find amusing or educational. It is interesting to read how our government sees the people of this “republic”. The complete document is 120 pages if you like to read more. This waste of taxpayers’ money was first compiled in 2005 under Alberto R. Gonzales.

David DeGerolamo

Terms and Concepts

Admiralty Court: A term used by sovereign citizens to refer to most courts, which they believe have no jurisdiction over them.

Allodial Title: A form of property title originating in the early Middle Ages in some lands of the former Roman Empire during the transition from Roman to feudal law, indicating title held by ancient right, without any obligations to the lord or king. Members of the “patriot” movement often file an “allodial title” of their own in an attempt to make their property immune from seizure for nonpayment of taxes or execution of judgments. The rationale is that a land held “in allodial title” can never be taken away.

Christian Identity: A hate-filled religious sect descended from British-Israelism that has come to dominate much of the leadership of the extreme right in the United States today. The key belief of Identity adherents is that people of white European descent are actually the descendants of the ancient Israelites of the Bible. Therefore, the Bible is a message written expressly for whites, who are “God’s chosen people.”

Citizens Militia: A type of paramilitary group often started to “protect” the citizenry from a tyrannical federal government. See also Unorganized Militia.

Common Law Court/Sovereign Citizen Movement: A movement (descended from the Posse Comitatus) which claims that the true and legitimate (de jure) government of the United States (and state governments) has been replaced by a tyrannical, illegitimate (de facto) government. Members of the movement claim they are only subject to a form of law they refer to as “common law” and are not subject to the authority of the federal or state governments. Adherents refer to themselves by a variety of names, most often “sovereign citizens,” but also “state citizens,” “sovereigns,” and other terms.

Compound Group: A type of extremist group that tends to be reclusive, cultlike, and semicommunal. Compound groups typically live in isolated areas and tend to be survivalist in nature. Many have apocalyptic views—they foresee some sort of coming collapse that they intend to survive. Compound groups tend to be heavily armed. Despite their reclusiveness, they often act as a haven or safe house for people of like minds, including fugitives from the law.

Constitution Party: A minor, right-wing extremist political party, formerly known as the U.S. Taxpayers Party (USTP), which is one of the primary parties that specifically try to appeal to the “patriot” movement.

Constitutionalists: A generic term for members of the “patriot” movement. It is now often used to refer to members of the sovereign citizen or common law court movement. Sometimes the word “constitutionist” is also used

Constructive Treason: Treason committed by a person through his conduct or actions, even though such actions individually do not amount to actual treason. This is a doctrine not recognized by the United States, though some other countries do so. However, members of the “patriot” movement routinely, in their common law courts and elsewhere, charge public officials at the local, state, and federal levels with “constructive treason” for taking actions that the “patriots” do not like.

Cracker: A person who accesses a computer system without consent with the intent to steal, destroy information, disrupt the system, plant a virus, alter the system and/or its processes from the configuration managed by the system manager, or otherwise alter information in or processes of the system.

Enemy Agents: Agents of foreign powers hostile to the United States. In “patriot” terminology, the term is often used to refer to public officials.

Executive Orders: The formal means by which the President of the United States determines the conduct of business in the Executive Branch. Typically, such executive orders take two forms: (1) orders governing administrative or policy matters in Executive Branch agencies or (2) orders for which the authority is derived from congressional authorizations. The “patriot” movement, however, contends that executive orders are “presidential laws” that bypass Congress and subvert the Constitution.

Fax Chain: A method of disseminating information in the “patriot” movement through the use of fax machines.

Flag of Distress: The upside-down American flag often prominently displayed on “patriot” literature, Web sites, uniforms, or elsewhere. Federal law states that “the flag should never be displayed with the union down save as a signal of dire distress.” Many “patriots” state that the country is in dire distress because of an illegitimate or tyrannical government; therefore, they use the symbol of the upside-down flag as a protest. Interestingly, groups ideologically far removed from the “patriot” movement, such as Earth First, have also used the distress flag symbol.

Flag of Peace: The American flag preferred by the “patriot” movement; a red, white, and blue flag without any gold trim, braid, balls, tassels, eagles, fringe, or spear on the flag or pole. Patriots believe that any other American flag is a military flag that denotes military jurisdiction. Only under the “flag of peace” do U.S. citizens receive their constitutional rights and due process.

Fourteenth Amendment Citizen: According to sovereign citizen ideology, a citizen subject to the jurisdiction of the federal and state governments. Sovereign citizens claim that they themselves are subject only to the common law. Adherents allege that the Fourteenth Amendment created a new class of citizens—citizens of the United States—where previously (unless one lived in Washington, DC, or a federal territory), one was only a citizen of one’s state.

Fringe on the Flag: Gold fringe that decorates the flags present in most courtrooms in the United States. Sovereign citizens claim (erroneously) that the only flags which can legally have such a fringe are military or admiralty flags, and thus a court in which such a flag is displayed does not have valid jurisdiction over them.

Militia Movement: An extremist movement based on armed, paramilitary groups that emerged in the mid-1990s using the rationalization that the United States’ people needed armed force to help defend themselves against an increasingly tyrannical government that was becoming the puppet of the “New World Order.”

National Socialist White People’s Party: A neo-Nazi group based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, headed by Harold Covington, a.k.a. Winston Smith. It claims to be the 55 descendant of the American Nazi Party, the country’s first neo-Nazi party, started by George Lincoln Rockwell (since assassinated). It is one of the most openly Hitlerian neo-Nazi groups, not Christian Identity in nature. The National Socialist White People’s Party’s Web site can be accessed through http://www.americannaziparty.com.

Neo-Secessionists: Individuals or groups who want specific geographic regions to break away from the United States. Alaska, Hawaii, and Texas all have neo-secessionist groups based on a sovereign citizen ideology. Another, perhaps larger, set of neo-secessionists are neo-Confederates, who want the South to break away from the United States and form a nation based on “Anglo-Celtic” (meaning “white”) dominance.

New World Order: A term used by conspiracy theorists to refer to a global conspiracy designed to implement worldwide socialism.

One-World Government: The concept that there will ultimately be a single governing body that will control the world. Some right-wing extremists fear this occurring, believing that white people will be in the minority, with Jewish people ultimately controlling the world.

Patriot Movement: The “patriot” movement is a general term used by its members to describe the collective movements and individuals on the extreme right wing. In one form or another, this practice dates back many decades; in the 1930s, many on the far right referred to themselves as “superpatriots.” In the 1960s and 1970s, it was common to refer to the “Christian Patriot” movement, but this term is less common now than then. Among the types of individuals that can be found within the “patriot” movement are white supremacists, sovereign citizens, tax protesters, militia members, and sometimes antiabortion or anti-environmental groups.

Precious Metal Dealers: Dealers in gold and silver who form perhaps the most significant source of financial support for the “patriot” movement. Gold and silver dealers such as Viking International, Discount Gold and Silver Trading Company, and others sponsor shortwave radio programs whose hosts urge people to put all their money into gold and silver so they can survive the “coming collapse.” These cynical dealers will accept Federal Reserve Notes in exchange for precious metals.

Preparedness Expos: Essentially, traveling trade fairs designed to appeal to the “patriot” market.

Republic of Texas (ROT): A sovereign citizen neo-secessionist group based on the notion that Texas was never legally annexed by the United States and is, therefore, an independent nation.

Restoring the Government/Constitution: One of the prime goals of many members of the “patriot” movement, who claim they are not trying to overthrow the government but rather want to “restore” the government to its status before it started “ignoring” the Constitution. Patriots claim that most actions of the U.S. government are unconstitutional and illegal.

Right to Travel: An absolute right that “patriot” movement members, especially sovereign citizens, claim that they have. They assert that they should be able to travel anywhere, at any time, and in any way, completely unfettered by any rules, licenses, restrictions, or regulations, including traffic laws, driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations, tags, and plates. Many claim that only commercial vehicles can be regulated by the government but that private individuals can travel completely freely; others simply claim that the Bible gives them the right to travel freely.

Sixteenth Amendment: Passed in 1913, this amendment to the United States Constitution permits the collection of an income tax. Followers of Posse Comitatus and other right-wing organizations refer to the year 1913 as the “year of the great betrayal.” Many groups do not believe the amendment was properly ratified by enough states to be valid and, therefore, believe the federal income tax is “voluntary” and need not be paid.

Survivalists: The survivalist movement feared a coming collapse of civilization, generally as the result of nuclear war, and tried to prepare themselves to survive it. Survivalists typically stockpiled food, water, and weapons, especially the latter, and instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants.

Wrist Rockets: Wrist rockets are high-powered slingshots that violent protesters have used to propel rocks, ball bearings, paint balls, and other objects. In addition, real and synthetic acid-filled eggs have been seized from radical anarchists.

Read more at NC Freedom Sandhills