“Sovereign citizens” sentenced to prison for threatening police

The Midden-Nederland Court sentenced two men who consider themselves “sovereign” or “autonomous” citizens to prison for threatening and extorting police officers and a bailiff. Roeland M. (53) got one year in prison, of which six months were conditionally suspended. Paolo P. (54) was sentenced to six months in prison, three of which were suspended. Both also got a probation period of three years, RTV Utrecht reported.

In addition to threatening and extorting police officers and a bailiff, M. was convicted of incitement and threatening with a terrorist intent. Last year, the man sent an email to the police saying that masked men would corner a police car and shoot at it.

The police arrested the two men at the end of 2023. They were in pre-trial custody for four months. The sentence is lower than the Public Prosecution Service’s (OM) demand of three years in prison, half suspended, against M. and two years in prison, half suspended, against P.

According to RTV Utrecht, M. and P. are prominent figures within the autonomous movement and spread their ideals - that they can ignore laws and regulations and that it is unfair for the government to impose financial obligations like taxes - on social media and via Telegram groups.

The autonomous movement is one of the different levels of “sovereignty.” In the more severe cases, sovereign citizens believe that the government has no power over them and don’t want to be part of the system in any way. For example, they stop paying taxes and rent. This often results in overdue payments piling up and eventual conflict with the police and bailiffs.

According to the intelligence service AIVD, the Netherlands has tens of thousands of people who consider themselves sovereign citizens to a greater or lesser extent, including several police officers and soldiers. Their number seems to have grown in recent years. According to Itai Siegel, a legal philosopher at Leiden University who researches the sovereign movement, the catalyst for this growth was the coronavirus pandemic in which the government took far-reaching and freedom-affecting measures.

Another factor that can contribute to the popularity of this and similar movements is the rise of “conspirituality,” Siegel told Nieuwsuur. That is a spiritual legitimization of conspiracy theories and alternative norm systems directed against the “evil elite,” who followers believe are ruling the world.

The followers of these movements are difficult for the government to reach, Siegel said. Dismissing them as “crazy” is a bad idea, he said. “Often there are standard procedures to follow. But it is also important to continue the conversation, to listen to underlying grievances, and to continue to explain the logic behind processes within the government,” he said.