Sovereignty movements, separatism create internal American conflict

Ted Kaczinski, the Unabomber

Who is a terrorist? The word is used frequently to describe many people, but the word suggests Muslims from the Middle East since 9/11. But there is a different sort of terrorist the FBI says involves Americans attacking each other.  

These include governors of various states pitted against each other over everything from water to health care and the states themselves condemning the federal officials for overstepping their boundaries.  And still other states find themselves caught up in internal strife from those seeking total independence from the union.

Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska and Governor Perry of Texas declared their states sovereign vs federal authority, but the FBI sorts them out as different from those whose extreme views against all government are a form of terrorism.

And Hawaii has a vocal Hawaiian sovereignty movement of different groups, each wanting leadership and each a different type of relationship with the rest of the United States.  Some look to removing anyone not born and raised in Hawaii, which is a minority view, while others seek a state within a state solution.

Some Hawaiian groups are also represented on committees related to the United Nations as separate peoples.

Sovereign citizen extremists aren't the militia men ordinarily because guns aren't central to their thinking, whereas anti-government thinking is.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating extremist groups in the sovereignty movement. It tells us there are people on the fringes of American life who attack other Americans and whose central argument is anti-government. These extremists believe they can operate outside the law, and that government regulations do not pertain to them. Sometimes they set up organizations with names that sound patriotic or or otherwise inviting in order to entice members. But their aims are likely criminal, and their pattern of behavior deserves observation and critical thinking.

The FBI investigates these folks because they can be dangerous and maintains:

"Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or "sovereign" from the United States. As a result, they believe they don't have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities, motor vehicle departments or law enforcement."

The Bureau underlines the difference between sovereignty movements and those who belong to domestic terrorist groups and who believe they are truly outside the law, including not just federal but state authority as well. For sovereignty groups, guns aren't their central issue, although they may use them. So they aren't necessarily minutemen, members of state sovereignty groups or Tea Party adherents with Sarah Palin as their titular head. Some of the thinking can be similar, but extremists, according to the FBI, don't believe in government control of any kind and believe they are outside of government regulations.
FBI reports their behavior like this,

"For example many sovereign citizens don't pay their taxes. They hold illegal courts that issue warrants for judges and police officers. They clog up the court system with frivolous lawsuits and liens against public officials to harass them. And they use fake money orders, personal checks and the like at government agencies, banks and businesses."

They also blow up federal buildings, as in the case of Timothy McVeigh, a right-wing extremist or kill people with letter bombs, as did the Unabomber, identified as Ted Kaczynski, considered an extremist from the left. What they had in common was their antipathy towards government, but for different reasons.

A group called the Embassy of Heaven describes their mission on their website and in their manifestos. A specific list of people indicted for different crimes asks prayers for them, and the government is underlined as the enemy of this group and good Christians everywhere. They were formed to help people avoid paying taxes.

A sovereignty extremist could be an old friend, or a respected former federal law enforcement official, such as a retired member of the FBI, as examples from the Bureau point out. One, former FBI agent in Las Vegas was arrested along with three other individuals, and charged with fraud, money laundering and illegal weapons. All belonged to sovereignty groups.

The FBI tells us to be aware of extreme thinking and people who say no to government control of any kind, especially when there are frauds and schemes used to entice the innocent. That's the warning about what's too far with sovereignty statements and what behavior might be considered too much.