Sovereign Citizen

Was Hawaii "never really made a state" as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: Hawaii officially became a U.S. state on August 21, 1959. This happened after the U.S. Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and most people in Hawaii voted for the territory to become a state. The claim appeared in a post on Instagram by…

Is there no law requiring American citizens to file an annual 1040 income tax return or to pay income tax on their labor? No, that's not true: The U.S. Constitution's 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, authorizes Congress to collect income tax. By law, the Internal Revenue Service can exact penalties for failing to file a 1040 form. The claim appeared…

Does a filing on the Florida Secured Transaction Registry show that Anthony Fauci, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and many other public servants are involved with a diamond business in Sulphur, Oklahoma? No, that's not true: There is no business by that name registered in Oklahoma. The Registry filing made by Paul Michael Walters does not appear to be a record…

Can court case numbers be "cashed in" as U.S. savings bonds? No, that's not true: A Treasury Department spokesperson told Lead Stories this claim is "100% false." The claim appeared in a TikTok post on September 7, 2022. The caption is "#savingsbond#court." The text over the video reads: your case# is a savings bond in your name The video says…

Did a "whistleblower" physician provide evidence of chemtrails being sprayed from military airplanes? No, that's not true: While Dr. Bill Deagle called himself a "whistleblower on the inside," nothing ever came of his outlandish claims and he never presented any evidence to back them. Experts from several fields agree that there is no secret large-scale atmospheric program spraying "chemtrails." Contrails,…

Does an individual's name being completely capitalized on legal documents mean that they are actually considered a corporation, not an individual? No, that's not true: This assertion, often embraced by followers of the sovereign citizens movement, has no basis in fact. It's often used as a justification for the "strawman theory," which argues that an individual has two separate personas:…

Is President Joe Biden "set to sell America's sovereignty to globalists" at the World Health Organization (WHO)? No, that's not true: Proposed U.S. amendments to WHO rules are aimed at strengthening the organization's ability to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies. The amendments do not suggest that the United States, nor any country, cede its sovereignty. WHO has…

Are Obamacare and medical coding part of a coordinated global system of human and child trafficking? No, that's not true: Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 with the goals of making affordable health insurance available to more people, expanding the Medicaid program and lowering the costs…

Can you declare yourself not a U.S. citizen to avoid paying taxes to the IRS? No, that's not true: The U.S. Constitution and the Internal Revenue Code clearly define citizenship and how a "person" is defined for tax purposes. The tactic is used by several groups, including the "sovereign citizen" movement. The FBI calls its followers "anti-government extremists who believe…

Does a person's birth certificate, with their name spelled out in capital letters, create a second entity, a "straw man," that is owned by the state and is separate from the flesh and blood person given that name at birth? No, that's not true: This is an illegitimate theory promoted by several different conspiracist groups such as Sovereign Citizens, Freemen…