we're in placerville california for the
arraignment of 39 year old asher edwards
hello judge good afternoon sir
edward's demeanor may seem pleasant but
just a few days earlier his alleged
behavior
was anything but he was charged with
making terrorist threats assault with a
deadly weapon and
obstructing peace officers after a
domestic disturbance escalated
into a two-day police standoff
mr edwards this is the time and place
set for your arraignment do you consent
to have an arraignment by video
conference
um sir is this an admiral maritime
admiralty law courtroom that we're uh
prosecuting me through
no it's not edwards considers himself a
sovereign citizen who lives as a free
man as they like to say
under common law as established by the
founding fathers
maritime admiralty law that he's
referencing is the law of the sea
in international commerce a body of law
that sovereign citizens believe to be
the foundation of the country's
modern legal system which they reject
this is not a maritime admiralty law
courtroom
i believe so absolutely it is all
courtrooms in this country are maritime
admiralty law courtrooms that process
people aren't they
no sir that's false information well
either why either way this courtroom is
trying to process me as state property
you see this fictitious name
statement asher edwards spelled in all
capital letters this is not my name
edwards is referring to another
sovereign belief
that beginning at birth one is issued a
government identity meaning
one's name is spelled in all capital
letters such as on a birth certificate
or social security card
and that doesn't represent one's true or
free self this name was issued to me
without my consent and you cannot
legally process me through this
courtroom
with this uh without this name and all
capital letters that was issued without
my consent
my name is spelled asher edwards first
capital all lower case
edwards first capital all lower case and
this is the birth name given to me by my
parents protected by the constitution of
the united states
even as edwards grows louder and more
animated the judge appears to
take it all in stride and even allows
the defendant to finish his rant
therefore it is illegal for you to
process me through this courtroom
so you guys have to figure out something
else to do with it
but this judge is all business so
figuring out
something else to do with edwards is not
in his plans
the court will enter a not guilty plea
on your behalf will show time is not
wave i will set this matter for
pre-preliminary hearing within the
statutory period
and i would like to see the gun said i
had a gun i've never had a gun
as edwards continues his rant about the
alleged gun the judge reaches for his
own
weapon of choice the mute button
do not speak while i'm speaking sir
edwards continues to plead his case but
to no avail
court will set bail the amount of 72 500
next matter
asher edwards would later be found
guilty of all the charges
and sentenced to one year in prison
next we go to a bond hearing in broward
county judge john hurley presiding
the defendant is david hall a sovereign
citizen
who basically believes that certain laws
don't apply to him
mr hall has declined the services of the
public defender your honor
hall is here for driving under the
influence and driving with a suspended
license
mr hall dui expired driver's license
as soon as the judge attempts to read
the charges paul begins interrupting
sir i haven't said for the court how i'm
appearing today sir i'm not asking you
yet just give me a moment all right i
need to look at your record
turns out hall is currently out on bond
for two previous charges of driving with
a suspended license
but that's not going to stop him from
trying to make his case
sir today i'm appearing as the agent and
settler for david hall
okay okay could you get mr hall for me
then sir
where is he i go by that name sir my
name sounds exactly like the defendants
and i'm here to settle that matter today
so are you and david hall one in the
same person
i'm not a person i'm an individual david
hall is a person i am a private
individual
paul's legalese is unconventional to say
the least
but the judge allows him to continue may
i
say something else for the record sir go
ahead sir i appear here today
as the settler agent not the person
but the individual and i i i don't think
i should out you
understand this if you hear this and
you're the individual but you're not the
person is that correct
correct correct let me i'm going to
write that down
judge hurley is unfazed by hall's
attempt at a jedi mind trick and
begins to turn the tables here's what
we're going to do
the settler the agent the individual and
maybe even the person
david hall has been charged with dui
so today the court's going to set your
uh the settler the agent the
individual's bond
and even the persons bond today ten
thousand dollars because the settler the
agent the individual
and the person continues to drive
without a driver's license
paul's new bond is ten thousand dollars
but because
this charge is a violation of his
original bond
all versions of david hall must remain
in jail
unless he can come up with the cash both
cases will cause
the settler the agent the individual and
even the person david hall not to be
able to be released
from the broward county jail until
further notice of the court
so may i post bond sir
now it's judge hurley's turn to have
some fun
is there any other are you asking me is
the settler the agent the individual
or you ask me as the person
sir i'm asking as the individual
appearing before you today
the opportunity on behalf of right now
sir i don't understand that question i
believe that you're trying to confuse me
now
i'm not the person sir okay i am not the
person david hall tell him he's not
leaving jail either all right
have a nice day thank you thank you sir
down the middle let's roll
next we're at the cheshire county
courthouse in keene new hampshire court
is currently in recess
but there is trouble brewing in the
gallery
the judge asked this man beau davis to
remove his hat
or leave otherwise he could be charged
with contempt of court
but davis refuses so if i have
force threatened upon me if i were
nothing
davis and some others seated around him
are associated with the new
hampshire-based
anti-government movement they're here to
support a fellow member
who's the defendant in a quote right to
travel case
that's in recess these so-called
sovereign citizens
claim to be pushing back against what
they consider overreach in the criminal
justice system
and they're not afraid to get vocal
about it
i think you misunderstood it's the
judge's authority when he comes back if
at that point he says he's in contempt
and then you have the authority
your choice is take the hat off
[Music]
after more back and forth with davis and
relentless commentary from others in the
gallery
the bailiff is finally done discussing
the matter
stand up please sir treat others as you
would place
being nice i'm not going to assist them
around the wrists
you should take your hands off that man
please stand up
a second bailiff comes to help escort
davis out
but again he refuses to stand i'm not
going to sit in my own arrest
instead of dragging davis out of the
courtroom the bailiffs use a wheelchair
as davis is wheeled out the group
continues to insult the bailiffs
they were considered like a real job
when were you under violence
despite their protests the court has
authority to make rules about
conduct in the courtroom so a short time
later
the judge returned to the courtroom and
sentenced bo davis
to five days in jail for contempt of
court
you know you're going to take my picture
i got a haircut good one
i'm glad you can make jokes
meet the man in the fur caps 21 year old
robert peterson
he's the person filming this footage as
he enters the
kootenay county courthouse in idaho that
has to go through the
x-ray machine if you want to come in
this building peterson is a hearing for
a minor traffic infraction
riding his bicycle at night without a
light
but from the moment he steps inside the
door it's clear
this won't be a typical security check
and i'd just like to know where your
warrant is i don't mean
it's clearly posted on the entrance
yeah every person is i'm not a person
i'm a man
and more specifically a free man
peterson considers himself a sovereign
citizen i'm not subject to your
jurisdiction and
the court has already confirmed that i'm
here for one purpose
all right you can submit or you can
leave
that's fine i mean i'll do that but
but you will be charged a bill charged a
bill
rather than escalating the situation one
of the bailiffs decides to play along
you will be served a bill i don't have
any weapons
i didn't come here to raise a ruckus
after clearing security peterson finds a
seat at the rear of the courtroom
and continues filming cameras in court
excuse me there are no cameras yeah
there is no you have to put that away
no i don't yes you do under what
authority there's a quote you have to
have a court order from the judge before
you can have the camera in the courtroom
okay well i'm going to capture
this on video gotta turn off it's for
both of our protections well
you have to turn it off no thank you
enter bailiff number two shut the camera
off now
no thank you i do not consent to you
touching me or seizing my properties
not being i'm not doing anything wrong
i'm holding you accountable
because you're about to overstep your
bounds
the bailiffs then decide to clear the
courtroom and question peterson directly
your first and last name i don't have a
last name you don't have alaska
no what's your first name i don't have a
first name either
i've got a name my name is rob you can
call me robert
as you can see this bailiff keeps his
sense of humor about the situation
what are you are you i'm a man you're a
human i'm a man yes
i see your idaho state license no i
don't have one
you don't have what my person does but i
don't
with the situation seemingly diffused
the bailiffs usher everyone back into
the courtroom well
except for one person
okay excuse me excuse me you're blocking
my freedom of movement
all right well p barnes you just
admitted to me that you're violating my
rights
no i'm not you can't come in with the
camera well you're violating my rights
and this is also freedom of the press
this is also freedom of the press i mean
i don't know what the hell
law book you're reading man but it
doesn't apply to me why are you worried
about cameras because you want to do
something wrong
because you want to do something wrong
because if it's against the rules that
means it's because somebody intends
on wronging somebody else because
they're afraid of being held accountable
p barnes it's a nice speech but you're
still not coming in
well please step aside i'm going in no
you're not going in
don't touch me you're not going in sir
but the records show that you just
battered me step back and you're using
it
step back after peterson refuses to step
back
chief bale of pete barnes fires his
taser and you're using
ah stop please i'm not doing anything
wrong
hey you know what you guys are really
overstepping your bounds right now
put the cuts
the answer to that question peterson's
charged with three counts of battery and
one count of contempt of court he would
later enter an
alford plea meaning he didn't admit to
committing a crime
but acknowledged there was likely enough
evidence to convict him
jail time was waived as part of the plea
deal and he was ordered to pay a fine
for his original charge of riding a bike
at night without a light
keisha johnson now to louisville
kentucky and the jefferson county
district court
an arraignment hearing is underway for
18 year old keisha johnson
who's charged with possession of
marijuana drug paraphernalia
and tampering with physical evidence
come on up here ma'am when called upon
johnson decides to address the judge
shawn delahanty
from the back of the court now you're
standing at this podium right awesome
come on we have to
the laws of the state of kentucky oh yes
uh as in like
law come up here and stand at this
podium i have to get you on the record
so the people
so we can see you with your argument
okay well for on the record i reserve my
rights before crossing this bench
johnson's refusing to cooperate because
she's part of a
sovereign citizens movement which
rejects institutions and believe they
aren't bound by the country's laws
well mr johnson i really don't want
uh to create some big scene hang on
i do i do not want to lock you up but i
may very well have to
i need for you to come up here and stand
at this podium
no you cannot no you cannot you have to
come up here and stand at this podium
as the bizarre scene plays out there's
another disruption in the back of the
courtroom
when a bailiff tells 36 year old jenna
vondran
to stop filming on her cell phone
in kentucky judges are given broad
discretion on allowing filming in their
courtrooms
watch as the judge looks down and
presses his panic button to summon
additional deputies to the courtroom
he said over there you have no right
no right for that
[Music]
[Applause]
all right after a quick reset
the original defendant keisha johnson
finally comes forward to the podium
you're charged with possession of
marijuana tampering with physical
evidence and possession of drug
paraphernalia i don't understand any of
that
all right uh well you're charged with
illegally possession mayor of possessing
marijuana
while the judge's attention is back with
johnson deputies in the hallway are
still trying to get control of von dram
the woman with the cell phone you don't
understand any of those charges
well there's not a whole lot more
there's not a whole lot more i can do to
try to explain to you
when trying to play clueless doesn't
work johnson goes back on the offensive
let's start here can you ask proof
jurisdiction prove jurisdiction
because i'll come in on the common law
prove your jurisdiction that you have
jurisdiction over me
over this over approved restriction a
query cannot proceed until you guys
prove just attention
show me your jurisdiction show me your
law all right
uh there are all of our laws are
codified in the kentucky revised statute
show
me jurisdiction showed me the law hey
here you go okay this doesn't prove that
you have your sticks
okay so what else uh and now there's a
simple way for me to prove
jurisdiction to you i'm gonna ask the
deputy to go ahead and take you into
custody under what charges
under what charges are disrupting my
court all right we're gonna pass your
case to tomorrow under common law
on the united states
johnson's arrested and charged with
contempt of court
fast forward to the next day and she's
about to face
a new judge keisha johnson 56.
this time johnson's represented by an
attorney i don't know how familiar with
this but this case
podium flipper okay i've heard a little
bit about it from yesterday
all right so this is miss johnson we'll
note that she's in
custody today she's brought over and
present and she'd like to
make a statement to the court i had time
to think about it
and i believe and i've learned that i
need to
represent myself in a respectable manner
while in front of the judge
okay so obviously um that behavior will
not be
tolerated that's why you ended up where
you are
keisha johnson's found guilty of
contempt of court and is released from
jail after serving one day
on her original charges two were dropped
but she's found guilty of possession of
marijuana
fined 185 dollars as for jenna vondran
who was arrested after filming in the
courtroom
go ahead and lock her up she's found
guilty of disorderly conduct and serves
one day in jail
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