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An antigovernment 鈥渟overeign citizen鈥� will spend 40 months in prison for threatening to use 鈥渄eadly force鈥� to arrest various government officials, including the mayor of Kirkland, Wash.

David Russell Myrland, sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, has made his living for the past 20 years through the unauthorized practice of law and by teaching others how to cheat on their federal income taxes, federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.

More recently, the 53-year-old man has been involved with a sovereign citizen group called 鈥淎ssemblies of the Counties,鈥� in Skagit and Pierce counties in western Washington. Generally, sovereigns say they are not subject to most national laws and do not have to pay taxes, a belief that often brings them into conflict with law enforcement authorities. The Assemblies of the Counties has been tied to threats made against Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg. A so-called 鈥渃ommon law jury鈥� involving members of the group recently declared militia leader Francis Schaeffer Cox 鈥渘ot guilty鈥� of felony charges he faces in Alaska. Its ruling has no legal meaning.

Myrland pleaded guilty to the federal charge in August after freely admitting to federal agents that he threatened government officials in the belief that Washington state law allows him to arrest any person he thinks committed a felony.

Further, the sentencing memo said, Myrland believed the 鈥減owers of a citizen鈥檚 arrest allowed him to force entry to the homes of any 鈥榝elon鈥� and use any force required, including deadly force, to arrest them,鈥� the court documents say.

Myrland鈥檚 close friend and fellow Assemblies of the Counties member is accountant Timothy Garrison, of Mount Vernon, Wash. Garrison pleaded guilty last month to preparing false income tax returns that cheated the U.S. government out of an estimated $2.5 million. He is scheduled to be sentenced in February.

After Myrland was arrested Jan. 25 on a federal charge of 鈥渢ransmission of a threatening interstate communication,鈥� federal agents searched his home and found illegal drugs and 22 ammunition magazines and 2,000 rounds of ammunition for a 9mm pistol.

The search also turned up 鈥渁 considerable volume of quasi-legal documents pertaining to threats to arrest government officials,鈥� including an 鈥渆xtraordinary writ of probable cause鈥� to arrest Washington鈥檚 governor, the court documents say. Agents also found similar arrests warrants for the arrest of Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride and a Kirkland assistant city attorney.

鈥淭he law applies to everyone,鈥� U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez told Myrland at sentencing Friday, 鈥渁nd the consequences of breaking the law apply to everyone as well.鈥�

Myrland could have faced as much as 87 months in federal prison, depending on whether the court concluded he had accepted responsibility for his crime 鈥� something prosecutors said didn鈥檛 occur. Ultimately, federal prosecutors recommended 48 months, and the judge settled on the 40-month term.

The high-profile prosecution brought comment from Jenny A. Durkan, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. 鈥淥ur cherished right to free speech does not extend to the freedom to make threats against our public officials and law enforcement officers,鈥� she said. Myrland鈥檚 crimes 鈥渉ad real victims,鈥� Durkan added.聽 鈥淔or too long, Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride and other city officials have had to live with the specter of Mr. Myrland鈥檚 armed associates invading their homes.鈥�

Durkan said she 鈥渁pplauded the courage鈥� of the mayor and other city officials who attended the sentencing hearing in Seattle and described to the judge 鈥渉ow this defendant鈥檚 selfish campaign of threats and quasi legal filings has altered their lives.鈥�

After the threats were made, the mayor was provided with extra police protection at additional cost to Kirkland taxpayers.

Myrland鈥檚 campaign of threats began after he was arrested in 2010 when he was pulled over by Kirkland police for driving without a license plate or driver鈥檚 license 鈥� a common practice for the growing number of sovereigns throughout the United States, most of whom believe the government has no right to regulate their travel on the open road. (As a result, conflicts with law enforcement officials frequently develop on the road. In May 2010, a sovereign duo murdered two West Memphis, Ark., police officers who had pulled them over.) Myrland had a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and a loaded magazine on the seat beside him.

During that traffic stop, Myrland repeatedly claimed that Washington State traffic laws didn鈥檛 apply to him, and that if he was arrested he would be 鈥渃onstitutionally authorized to come to the officer鈥檚 residence and arrest him at any time,鈥� prosecutors said in court documents.

Myrland later took his encounter with Kirkland police to his associates in the sovereign citizens group. The group has an armed wing called the County Rangers whose members are required to own firearms and possess realistic-looking but fake badges and law enforcement credentials.

Members of the Assemblies of the Counties believe the American 鈥渃ommon law鈥� government set up by the founding fathers has been secretly replaced by a new government based on admiralty law 鈥� the law of the sea and international commerce.聽 They also believe that judges know about this secret government takeover, but deny sovereign citizen legal filings because of 鈥渢reasonous loyalty to hidden and malevolent government forces,鈥� according to documents filed in Myrland鈥檚 case.

鈥淚n today鈥檚 heated climate, intemperate statements and threats to government officials are unfortunately not uncommon,鈥� federal prosecutors said. But what distinguished Myrland 鈥渇rom the garden-variety threat case is that he was not just acting by himself, but [with] others in the so-called 鈥榮overeign citizen鈥� movement, who share his odd belief system.鈥�

When Myrland is released from federal prison a little more than three years from now, federal authorities say they will be concerned. 鈥淯nfortunately, Myrland鈥檚 arrogance, his anger and his inability to even consider the possibility that he is in the wrong in this matter come through in various letters to the court and probation [officers],鈥� the sentencing memo said. 鈥淭he evidence amply supports [the] conclusion that Myrland remains a danger to the community and is a virtual certainty to re-offend.鈥�