# Sovereign Citizens-- Please tell me this is fake **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572 "2016-10-24T07:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 70
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1381 "2025-07-17T01:26:41Z")
MrBeast is knowh to be pretty liberal with mixing CGI in with his videos to make them more “exciting” so take everything with a grain of salt. Sone of it is real, some isn’t, and it’s not always obvious which is which in any given scene. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1382 "2025-07-17T02:00:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > knowh to be pretty liberal with mixing CGI in with his videos to make them more “exciting” so take everything with a grain of salt Wait, you mean I they can put things on the internet that aren’t true? Should I cancel my order for the private traveler plate for my motorcycle? $200 seemed steep, but it should pay for itself in 2.5 years of not having to pay for registration. Only 1 year if I cancel my insurance, because no need to swear I have insurance if when I register it. > **[Custom USDOT plates – Sovereign Filing Solutions](https://makefreedom.com/product/custom-usdot-plates/)** ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1383 "2025-07-17T02:02:52Z")
I put it to my brother this way: a website means exactly as much as a cardboard sign written in marker. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1384 "2025-07-17T02:29:24Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > a website means exactly as much as a cardboard sign written in marker. Or exactly as much as large golden letters bolted to the side of a building. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1385 "2025-07-17T03:10:38Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Wait, you mean I they can put things on the internet that aren’t true? Yup! Which is good to remember when you’re sure that a clip is real. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1386 "2025-07-17T09:14:51Z")
That is both scary and pathetic. I wonder what went before. Is it a traffic stop or does he have a warrant? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1387 "2025-07-17T09:27:53Z")
Pulled over for traffic violation (a kayak sticking out of the back of the car more than 3 feet which requires a flag which he didn’t have. Then asked to step out because he didn’t have registration for the car, he refused and rolled up his window. Full video, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7PLDBY4jlcE/hqdefault.jpg "Sovereign Citizen Cops bust man's window as he prays to Trump save him") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PLDBY4jlcE) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1388 "2025-07-17T10:31:22Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Should I cancel my order for the private traveler plate for my motorcycle? $200 seemed steep, but it should pay for itself in 2.5 years of not having to pay for registration. Only 1 year if I cancel my insurance, because no need to swear I have insurance if when I register it. Seems a bit steep. You can get them cheaper from Amazon. Like $9.99. Although not quite as pretty as yours, it had _two_ UCC cites, not just one, so doubleplus gooder than yours: **[Amazon.com: Right to Travel License Plate](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNYDX8LT/)** ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1389 "2025-07-27T17:16:28Z")
This is a long compilation, but I just want folks to watch the first 60 seconds This is Deputy Frank Sloup of Pinal County Arizona, and I would just love to see all SovCits meet the equivalent of officer Sloup. Perfectly cordial, but absolutely no nonsense tolerated. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SbOMRMhknFM/maxresdefault.jpg "'Not In My County': Top Moments of Deputy Frank Sloup On Patrol") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbOMRMhknFM) ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1390 "2025-07-27T19:56:45Z")
I like this guy, need more like him… I like how he encourages reading the Stoics. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1391 "2025-07-28T15:01:37Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Perfectly cordial, but absolutely no nonsense tolerated. Yeah, and unnecessarily badge heavy with the stupid “show me your driver’s license before I tell you why I pulled you over.” I have absolutely so problem with police not putting up with the Sov Cit stupidity but why not tell the person why they are being pulled over? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1392 "2025-07-28T16:00:47Z")
The problem is that the driver felt entitled to assess whether the traffic stop was justified in his opinion before producing his driver’s license. You can see this in his very next response when he says that’s not how this works. But that absolutely is how it works. Once interacting with a driver the police can ask for his license for any reason or no reason at all. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1393 "2025-07-28T16:31:06Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I have absolutely so problem with police not putting up with the Sov Cit stupidity but why not tell the person why they are being pulled over? I would prefer that to opening with, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” My response to me would be, “I prefer you tell me, officer.” > [@wolfpup](#): > > Once interacting with a driver the police can ask for his license for any reason or no reason at all. Depends on the state. 22 states have a [_Stop and identify_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_identify_statutes) statute, Arizona being one of them. The pertinent part is, > While the police officer must have reasonable suspicion to detain a person, the officer has no obligation to inform the person what that suspicion was. The only time the officer would have to articulate the suspicion is when the person was arrested, and the person later challenged the validity of the stop in court. > > Police may question a person detained in a [_Terry_ stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_stop), but, in general, the detainee is not required to answer.[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_identify_statutes#cite_note-15) However, many states have “stop and identify” laws that explicitly require a person detained under the conditions of _Terry_ to identify themselves to police, and in some cases, to provide additional information. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1394 "2025-07-28T16:39:20Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > [_Terry_ stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_stop) a.k.a. “stop and frisk”— In 1857 the infamous “Dred Scott” Supreme Court ruling denied that African-Americans were or ever had been citizens of the United States. Among other justifications for this declaration was an enumeration of rights that free Blacks would have to accorded if they were citizens, including: > to go where they pleased at every hour of the day or night without molestation, unless they committed some violation of law for which a white man would be punished; Apparently we’re still working on it… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1395 "2025-07-28T16:42:32Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Once interacting with a driver the police can ask for his license for any reason or no reason at all. > > Depends on the state. 22 states have a [_Stop and identify_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_identify_statutes) statute, Arizona being one of them. I don’t think “Stop and identify” laws have anything to do with traffic stops. Drivers are under special obligations to produce certain documents, namely a driver’s license, registration, and usually proof of insurance. The legitimacy of a traffic stop is a separate issue. For example, a police officer approaching a driver in a parked vehicle can, I believe, legitimately request the person’s driver’s license without explanation. The mistake that some drivers make, SovCits in particular, is mistaking a traffic stop for a court case. Court is where arguments are made, traffic stops are where required documents have to be produced. > [@DesertDog](#): > > My response to me would be, “I prefer you tell me, officer.” That’s less confrontational than “that’s not how this works”, but probably wouldn’t get you anywhere with this guy. Your preference has no standing if the law states otherwise, and is worth about as much as SovCits bleating “I do not consent to being arrested” while being arrested. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1396 "2025-07-28T16:43:15Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The problem is that the driver felt entitled to assess whether the traffic stop was justified in his opinion before producing his driver’s license. Still doesn’t matter. That’s on the driver. What about the other drivers who aren’t Sov Ciz? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1397 "2025-07-28T16:45:58Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Still doesn’t matter. That’s on the driver. > > What about the other drivers who aren’t Sov Ciz? Note this paragraph in my previous post: > [@wolfpup](#): > > The mistake that some drivers make, SovCits in particular, is mistaking a traffic stop for a court case. Court is where arguments are made, traffic stops are where required documents have to be produced. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1398 "2025-07-28T16:50:04Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I would prefer that to opening with, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” > > My response to me would be, “I prefer you tell me, officer.” I don’t drive, so I’m not conversant with driver-police interactions, but what would be the problem with answering “No, Officer, I don’t know why you pulled me over.” Certainly non-confrontational, with the implied request for an explantiion. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1399 "2025-07-28T16:50:53Z")
That’s always my response - “No, I don’t know”, even if I have a pretty good idea why. It’s their responsibility to know why they pulled me over, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1400 "2025-07-28T16:52:27Z")
The problem may be that the police may see anything other than complete capitulation and subservience as entitlement from the driver. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572.md?page=69) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572.md?page=71)