De facto vs. de jure government

Sovereign citizens often use the term "de facto government" to refer to the U.S. government. They believe a conspiracy began in the 1860s to infiltrate the original "de jure" government, subvert its laws and replace them with tyrannical laws, creating a new, illegitimate "de facto" government designed to enslave the people. Sovereign citizens believe that by declaring their "sovereignty," they can return to the pre-conspiracy government, after which the "de facto" government will have no authority or jurisdiction over them. This belief is the basis for many sovereigns' decisions to ignore laws, rules, regulations, and taxes.

This database provides an overview of many of the terms and individuals used by or associated with movements and groups that subscribe to and/or promote extremist or hateful ideologies.

Skousenism

Skousenism is a term used to describe the political philosophy of ultraconservative political theorist W. Cleon Skousen (1913-2006). Skousen advocated a philosophy centered on advocacy for extremely limited federal government, anti-Communism, conspiracy theories and Mormon theology. Skousenites... Read more

Key Concepts / Definitions Anti-government

Moorish Movement

An Afro-centric offshoot of the sovereign citizen movement that emerged in the mid-1990s primarily as a result of people merging sovereign beliefs with beliefs from a longstanding religious sect, the Moorish Science Temple. Moorish sovereign citizens often... Read more

Groups / Movements Anti-government

Romana Didulo

Romana Didulo is a Canadian QAnon figure who falsely claims to be the "Queen of Canada." She has frequently called for violent action online, especially against individuals involved in administrating Covid-19 vaccines to children. Didulo has frequently... Read more

People Right-wing

David Straight

David Straight is a prominent sovereign citizen guru and QAnon adherent who teaches sovereignty with a QAnon bent, urging his followers to become "American State Nationals" before Trump is reinstated as president. He works closely with Bobby... Read more