Activists target Seattle area homeowners for eviction citing ‘sovereign’ property rights

According to KIRO 7 news "Edmonds detectives say the group knocked on doors in the most upscale neighborhoods in Woodway and Edmonds, identifying themselves as Moorish Sovereign Citizens. They carry official-looking documents, say they own the property and announce they're moving in. "They have basically come to say that they're from this particular group and they're there to repossess the home and want the people to vacate the premises," said Edmonds police Sgt. Josh McClure."

"Their group believes that they own all of the land between Alaska and Argentina and all the islands in between," McClure said. Police said that the activists bring official-looking documents with them to "prove" their claims of ownership.

The Moorish Sovereign Citizens has been labeled an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and they are squatters who do not recognize the authority of the United States government or its laws. Members "...believe their status as members of a sovereign nation imparts immunity from federal, state and local authorities."

"Federal, state and local law enforcement have encountered Moorish sovereigns committing a wide range of minor or white collar criminal activity including traffic violations, house squatting, tax fraud, financial scams and violations of government regulations," according to SPLC. "Of further concern, Moorish sovereigns have recently engaged in violent retaliation against police, court officers and other civil authorities beyond the mere filing of false liens against them and other forms of harassment. Some Moorish sovereign citizens have also been known to target their own for financial scams and other criminal activity."

SPLC expanded on the group's ideology "Moorish sovereign ideology breeds anti-government, anti-law enforcement sentiment through its radical ideology which can inspire members to intimidate, threaten, and harass government officials and law enforcement officers. Moorish sovereigns are also known to produce fraudulent legal documents which they use against perceived enemies — especially publicly elected officials they view as corrupt."

"Right now, we're deep in knucklehead territory, the Moorish Science Church at one point had 30,000 members in the 1930s. Later 50,000, but the estimates now claim this might be a couple thousand left. This is not them," said John Miller, senior correspondent for CBS News. "This is a splinter group, an offshoot of opportunists."

The police were called by the homeowners and the group cooperated after they were warned that they could be arrested for trespassing. Investigators believe they will continue trying. The "sovereign citizens" have been targeting homes in Snohomish County homes that have either recently been sold or put on the market and have run similar scams in other parts of the country. Police are watching vacant homes around Snohomish County as well.

According to the Daily Mail, "…in December 2018, authorities in Georgia arrested a man after he moved into a $500,000 home that another family had just purchased. Joel Fedd, 33, claimed the home in Gwinett County was his because he is an 'indigenous Moor' and as such had rights to the land."

In March 2013, Tabitha Gentry with a family of extremist squatters, occupied a $3 million mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, before being evicted by an armed SWAT team. Gentry was charged with trespassing, burglary and theft. She said as a citizen of the "Moorish American National Republic," that land is her land.

In Maryland, according to CBS, a member of the group moved into a 35,000-square-foot mansion with 12 bedrooms, which was for sale. "Lamont Butler, aka Lamont Maurice L, claimed the mansion for himself. He even provided documents provided by the so-called Moorish National Republic to back it up." CBS continued that "…Jeff Fort is perhaps the most notorious movement member. The former leader of a violent Chicago street gang, he was convicted in 1987 of conspiring with Libya's Gadhafi regime to blow up United States government buildings."

Fox News reported that in North Carolina, "a couple who identified with the Moorish sovereign movement moved into a multimillion dollar home for sale, holding a quit claim deed, and barricaded themselves inside. Their contentious arrest for trespassing rattled neighbors.

"Because we've had contacts with this group over the last couple of years, we've also notified our local partners with the FBI. They have them on the radar as well, so this has been a collaborative effort with law enforcement in the area," said McClure.