torchbearer
08-21-2012, 10:34 AM
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57497170-504083/suspects-in-louisiana-deputy-killings-linked-to-extremists/
CBS/AP) NEW ORLEANS - At least some of the seven people arrested in a fatal
shootout with Louisiana deputies have been linked to violent anarchists on the
FBI's domestic terrorism watch lists, a sheriff said Saturday.
Detectives had been monitoring the group before Thursday's shootout in
Laplace in which two deputies were killed and two more wounded, said DeSoto
Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle. His detectives and other law enforcement
discovered the suspects were heavily armed adherents to an ideology known as the
"sovereign citizens" movement.
The FBI has classified "sovereign citizens" as people who believe they are
free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes. The FBI considers the
group's members a danger for making threats to judges and law enforcement, using
fake currency and impersonating police officers.
The seven suspects have been charged in the shooting of Deputy Michael Scott
Boyington, who survived. But authorities have said murder charges are
pending.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the killings
but declined to comment Saturday and referred questions to the Louisiana State
Police, the lead investigation agency.
Arrested were the group's apparent leader, 44-year-old Terry Smith, his wife,
Chanel Skains, 37, and his two sons, Derrick Smith, 22, and Brian Lyn Smith, 24.
Also arrested were Brittney Keith, the girlfriend of Brian Smith; Kyle David
Joekel, 28, and a woman living with him, 21-year-old Teniecha Bright.
Brian Smith was charged with attempted first-degree murder and the others
with related charges.
Sovereign citizens are a loosely organized movement founded in the 1970s and
more fully developed in the 1980s, according to the Anti-Defamation League
website. Sovereign citizens believe that all levels of government have no
jurisdiction over them and resist - sometimes with violence - authority
including police, the website said.
They also like to use what is dubbed "paper terrorism." It involves using
frivolous lawsuits and fake documents and of using genuine documents such as IRS
forms to intimidate, harass and coerce public officials, law enforcement
officers and private citizens.
CBS/AP) NEW ORLEANS - At least some of the seven people arrested in a fatal
shootout with Louisiana deputies have been linked to violent anarchists on the
FBI's domestic terrorism watch lists, a sheriff said Saturday.
Detectives had been monitoring the group before Thursday's shootout in
Laplace in which two deputies were killed and two more wounded, said DeSoto
Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle. His detectives and other law enforcement
discovered the suspects were heavily armed adherents to an ideology known as the
"sovereign citizens" movement.
The FBI has classified "sovereign citizens" as people who believe they are
free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes. The FBI considers the
group's members a danger for making threats to judges and law enforcement, using
fake currency and impersonating police officers.
The seven suspects have been charged in the shooting of Deputy Michael Scott
Boyington, who survived. But authorities have said murder charges are
pending.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the killings
but declined to comment Saturday and referred questions to the Louisiana State
Police, the lead investigation agency.
Arrested were the group's apparent leader, 44-year-old Terry Smith, his wife,
Chanel Skains, 37, and his two sons, Derrick Smith, 22, and Brian Lyn Smith, 24.
Also arrested were Brittney Keith, the girlfriend of Brian Smith; Kyle David
Joekel, 28, and a woman living with him, 21-year-old Teniecha Bright.
Brian Smith was charged with attempted first-degree murder and the others
with related charges.
Sovereign citizens are a loosely organized movement founded in the 1970s and
more fully developed in the 1980s, according to the Anti-Defamation League
website. Sovereign citizens believe that all levels of government have no
jurisdiction over them and resist - sometimes with violence - authority
including police, the website said.
They also like to use what is dubbed "paper terrorism." It involves using
frivolous lawsuits and fake documents and of using genuine documents such as IRS
forms to intimidate, harass and coerce public officials, law enforcement
officers and private citizens.