Posse Comitatus (organization)

For other uses, see Posse comitatus (disambiguation).

The Posse Comitatus (from the Latin phrase meaning "force of the county") is a loosely organized far right social movement that opposes the United States federal government and believes in localism. There is no single national group, and local units are autonomous.

Posse charters were issued in 1969 in Portland, Oregon, by Henry Lamont Beach, "a retired dry cleaner and one-time member of the Silver Shirts, a Nazi-inspired organization that was established in America after Hitler took power in Germany" [Corcoran].^[1] William Potter Gale has been described by one expert as the founder of the movement.^[2]

Posse members believe that there is no legitimate form of government above that of the county level and no higher law authority than the county sheriff.^{[citation needed]} If the sheriff refuses to carry out the will of the county's citizens:

...he shall be removed by the Posse to the most populated intersection of streets in the township and at high noon be hung by the neck, the body remaining until sundown as an example to those who would subvert the law.^[3][4]

Many Posse members practice survivalism and played a role in the formation of the armed citizens' militias in the 1990s. The Posse Comitatus pioneered the use of false liens and other paper terrorism.^[5]

Federal taxes

Members of the Posse Comitatus frequently refuse to pay taxes, to obtain driver's licenses, or otherwise to comply with regulatory authorities. They deny the validity of United States fiat money as not backed by gold, which they claim the Constitution requires.

They have unusual legal documents drawn up and attempt to record them, declaring independence from the United States, or claiming to file "common law" liens against perceived enemies like Internal Revenue Service employees or judges. They are often involved in various tax protests, and have invoked arguments popularized by tax protesters.

Criminal activities

In 1983, former Posse member (and accused parole violator) Gordon Kahl killed two federal marshals (who had come to arrest him) in North Dakota and became a fugitive. Another shootout ensued on June 3, 1983, in which Kahl and Lawrence County, Arkansas Sheriff Gene Matthews were killed. Other members of the group have also been convicted of crimes ranging from tax evasion and counterfeiting to threatening the lives of IRS agents and judges.

The organisation also demonstrated to support its members over other issues such as divorce disputes. On September 2, 1975, Francis Earl Gillings, the founder of a San Joacquin County Posse group, led a group of armed Posse members to prevent United Farm Workers Union organizers from attempting to organize non-union tomato pickers. As sheriff's deputies attempted to arrest Gillings on a traffic warrant, one got into a scuffle with Gillings and a shot was fired, injuring the deputy's ear.^[6]

Christian Identity

Some Posse members embraced the anti-semitic and white supremacist beliefs of Christian Identity.^[7] Some believe that the U.S. Federal government is illegitimate and in the hands of "ZOG," an alleged Jewish conspiracy.^[8]

In 1985, a member of the Posse Comitatus announced: "Our nation is now completely under the control of the International Invisible government of the World Jewry."^[9]

Sovereign Citizens

The legal theories of Posse Comitatus have been further developed by the Sovereign Citizen Movement, which claims that a U.S. citizen can become a "sovereign citizen" (as opposed to a "Fourteenth Amendment Citizen") and thereby be subject only to common law and/or "constitutional law", not to statutory law (including most taxes).^[10] The Uniform Commercial Code plays an important part in these legal theories.

While some African-American groups have adopted Sovereign Citizen beliefs,^[11] the movement is dominated by adherents of Christian Identity. Some within the movement see African Americans, who only gained legal citizenship with the passage of the 14th Amendment after the civil war, as "14th Amendment citizens" with fewer rights than whites.^[12]

In turn, the Sovereign Citizen movement gave rise to the "redemption movement", which claims that the U.S. government has enslaved its citizens by using them as collateral against foreign debt, and sells instructions explaining how to "free" yourself by filing particular government forms in a particular order using particular wording. This movement "has earned its promoters untold profits, buried courts and other agencies under tons of worthless paper, and led to scores of arrests and convictions".^[13]

See also

• David Wynn Miller

References

1. ^ Corcoran, James (1990). Bitter Harvest: Gordon Kahl and the Posse Comitatus: Murder in the Heartland. p. 29. ISBN 0670815616. http://books.google.com/books?id=QMDnBCNGCrYC&q=retired+dry+cleaner+and+one-time+member+of+the+Silver+Shirts&dq=retired+dry+cleaner+and+one-time+member+of+the+Silver+Shirts&hl=en&ei=4JZMTPXYHYL78Ab1r_Qy&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw. 
2. ^ The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right by Daniel Levitas (Thomas Dunn Books, 2002; ISBN 0-312-29105-1).
3. ^ Terrorism in America: Pipe Bombs and Pipe Dreams by Brent L. Smith (SUNY Press, 1995; ISBN 0-7914-1759-X), 57–58.
4. ^ "Common Law and Uncommon Courts: An Overview of the Common Law Court Movement", Mark Pitcavage, Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website, July 25, 1997.
5. ^ Mark Pitcavage (June 29, 1998), Paper Terrorism's Forgotten Victims: The Use of Bogus Liens against Private Individuals and Businesses, Anti-Defamation League, http://www.adl.org/mwd/privlien.asp 
6. ^ Merced Sun-Star - Aug 9, 1976. Page 1. 'Jail Term for Posse Founder'
7. ^ Marks, Kathy (1996). Faces of right wing extremism. Branden Publishing Company. p. 146. ISBN 978-0828320160. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-qIb0IuQlkUC&pg=PA146&dq=Posse+Comitatus+racist&hl=en&ei=KM1eTKaSDs2D4Qam3ezPBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Posse%20Comitatus%20racist&f=false. 
8. ^ Knight, Peter (2003). Conspiracy theories in American history: an encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABL-CIO. p. 758. ISBN 978-1576078129. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qMIDrggs8TsC&pg=PA758&dq=%22Posse+Comitatus%22+zog&hl=en&ei=ss5eTIPRIduO4gbKqY3cBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Posse%20Comitatus%22%20zog&f=false. 
9. ^ Christian Posse Comitatus Newsletter, n.d. quoted in Kenneth S. Stern, A Force upon the Plain: The American Militia Movement and the Politics of Hate (NY: Simon & Shuster, 1996) p. 50.
10. ^ What is a Sovereign Citizen?, Message to Students, Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website.
11. ^ Are sovereign citizens racist?, Message to Students, Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website.
12. ^ What is a 'Sovereign Citizen'?, Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report, Winter 2008.
13. ^ Beyond Redemption, Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report, Winter 2002.

External links

• Posse Comitatus
• Posse Comitatus on Nizkor's website
• The Posse Comitatus by Ian Geldard brief overview of the origins and development of the group
• Sovereign Citizen Movement article from The Anti-Defamation League
• Too Weird for The Wire by Kevin Carey, Washington Monthly (describing the use of Posse Comitatus theories by African-American drug dealers in Baltimore)