Sovereign citizens plotted jailbreak, abduction of sheriff and judge
A former Tennessee resident was convicted last week on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. , 57, has also been linked to an extremist plot to kidnap a Nebraska sheriff and a Tennessee judge last year.
claims to be an 鈥渁mbassador鈥� and 鈥渁ssociate chief justice鈥� of the , a sovereign citizen group based in the Canadian province of British Columbia, according to聽. He also falsely claims to be a citizen of 鈥淐hilcotin,鈥� a designated region in British Columbia, Canada, dedicated to the legitimate Tsilhqot'in indigenous people (also called the Chilcotin).
The case against Parsons began in ,聽when he was charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Parsons had been previously 聽of felonious aggravated assault in 2009 when he 鈥渉eld two neighbors at gunpoint in what he called a citizen鈥檚 arrest after they shot one of his wolf-hybrid dogs,鈥� according to .
On January 10, 2017, Parsons failed to appear for his court hearing related to the firearms charges in state court in Tipton County, Tennessee. A warrant was issued for his arrest. Investigators would later learn that Parsons removed his ankle monitor and fled the state in a single-engine airplane (a 1964 Piper Cherokee) he owned.
Two days later, authorities caught up with Parsons when he landed for the night at a small airport in Arapahoe, Nebraska. They located him using a GPS tracking device inside his cell phone. Parsons was arrested and transported to a local jail in Furnas County, Nebraska. A search of Parsons鈥� plane 聽he possessed several hundred rounds of ammunition and a assault rifle.
Once Parsons was in custody, his wife, Patricia, and a sovereign citizen judge, Suzanne Holland (self-appointed Chief Justice of the Universal Supreme Court of the Tsilhqot鈥檌n Nation) began sending fake legal paperwork ordering Parsons鈥� release and issuing bogus arrest warrants for Sheriff Kurt Kapperman of Furnas County, Nebraska (where Parsons was being held), as well as Tipton County, Tennessee, Circuit Court judge Joe Walker, who issued the warrant for Parsons鈥� arrest. When these false orders were ignored, they began plotting to break Parsons out of jail and abduct the two officials.
Both women reportedly hired a New Orleans 聽(also an FBI confidential informant) to free Parsons and kidnap the sheriff and judge. They wanted all three men transported to Canada where the two officials would face bogus 鈥渃riminal charges鈥� in a sovereign citizen kangaroo court. Patricia Parsons and Suzanne Holland were later arrested by the FBI for plotting the jail break and abductions.
Holland and Parsons鈥� group had been previously disavowed by the Tsilhqot鈥檌n National Government (TNG), an officially recognized indigenous tribe in Canada. The TNG had corresponded with both the provincial and federal ministers explaining that 鈥渢he Universal Supreme Court of the Tsilhqot鈥檌n group does not represent or speak for the Tsilhqot鈥檌n people,鈥� according to Graham Gillies, a TNG communications manager.
On September 1, 2017, Patricia Parsons pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting solicitation to commit kidnapping, according to a Justice Department press release. She was later 聽to 60 months in prison.
On August 9, 2017, 聽(also known as 鈥淶suzsanna Hegedus鈥�) was ordered to stand trial in Canada on the attempted abduction charge, but no trial date has been set. There have been no media updates concerning her trial. She reportedly failed to appear for her court hearings. To date, criminal charges have not been filed against 聽in Nebraska.
Michael Parsons faces up to 10 years in prison, a 聽and three years of post-release supervision for the two firearms convictions. His 聽is currently scheduled for Dec. 7, 2018.
A fourth individual, Anthony Todd Weverka (President, Arapahoe Airport Authority and friend of Parsons), was also arrested in 2017 in relation to this case. He is charged with misprision of felony (the deliberate concealment of one鈥檚 knowledge of a felony or treasonable act). Authorities believe Weverka knew of the existence of felony offenses by Mike and Pat Parsons and the planned kidnapping of the sheriff. Authorities claim that Weverka 鈥減rovided assistance to the Parsons, that he failed to disclose his knowledge of the details of the plot to law enforcement and that he made false statements to the sheriff,鈥� according to reporting. Weverka also continued communications with Holland as the plot unfolded.
In December 2017, Weverka admitted to committing the criminal offense and entered into a pretrial diversion agreement with the United States Attorney鈥檚 Office. He was sentenced to 18 months鈥� probation and 50 hours of community service.
