'Sovereign Citizen Groups in the Netherlands are Arming Themselves: Cause for Concern?' by Menso Hartgers (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 2024) comments
On 9 July 2024, the first court hearing of a Dutch citizen who attempted to illegally acquire firearms and his arms dealer began. The suspect is part of the so-called Common Law Netherlands Earth (in Dutch Common Law Nederland Earth), a sovereign citizen group that rejects the democratic rule of law in the Netherlands, believing that they are not subject to government authority. Instead, they argue to be bound only by their interpretation of natural law and selective historical legal principles. The Public Prosecutor asserts that the group attempted to illegally acquire firearms to instigate a revolution. This case is indicative of a possible trend of sovereign citizens and anti-government extremists who not only espouse anti-democratic ideas but are also attempting to seize the means to realise their ideations. In a March 2024 report, ICCT already encountered online incitements for violence by Common Law Netherlands Earth, which advocated for “civil arrest” to “fight back” against government and law enforcement. This rhetoric is clearly a call to arms against the democratic rule of law. The ongoing trial evidences that the group’s adherents are heeding these calls, quite literally arming themselves. This short analysis aims to further shed light on the group, reflecting on developments of sovereign citizen movements abroad, and outlining possible challenges ahead.
Anti-government extremism (AGE) encompasses movements, networks, and individuals that reject government legitimacy and undermine the democratic legal order, often rooted in conspiracy narratives, particularly surrounding the existence of an ‘evil elite’ that supposedly runs the world from behind the scenes. Sovereign citizens are a subset of anti-government extremists. Their beliefs in an evil elite are often centred around the notion that man-made, government mandated laws and statutes are ways to oppress ‘the people’ and strip them of their individual rights and sovereignty. They position themselves outside of this ‘oppressive’ legal regime by advocating for the establishment of their own courts and parallel societies instead.
Common Law Netherlands Earth is part of an international genre of sovereign citizen collectives that is notably found in the UK and ‘British Heritage countries’ (i.e., former British colonies that have adopted and continue to use particular legislative or judiciary structures like courts inspired by British colonialism) such as the US, Canada, and Australia. The existence of these various ‘Common Law’ groups is predicated on a shared narrative of an aspired supersession of natural laws over existing legal structures and democratic norms. In the case of Common Law Netherlands Earth, it must further be noted that, based on limited open-source intelligence, the group may have changed its name or split off under a different nomenclature.
ICCT’s early investigations into the Dutch anti-government and sovereign citizen extremist scene revealed that the group is (or was) comparatively well organised. Its official website, which is currently defunct, neatly listed several Telegram channels through which it could share sovereign citizen content and messages, while also linking to international affiliate organisations like the Australian People of the Commonwealth, the Republic of Kanata in Canada, and the People of Krystal City in Spain. Visitors of the website could also be directed to toolkits and documents, including procedural guidelines detailing the establishment of Common Law people’s tribunals. In the eyes of groups that adopt Common Law views, these people’s tribunals serve as Common Law alternatives to Dutch courts.
Perhaps more worryingly are the ‘sheriffs’ training materials that the group distributes through its website and various Telegram channels. In Common Law speak, sheriffs, are those individuals empowered to execute the verdicts of people’s tribunals. According to the group’s doctrine, Common Law sheriffs are authorised to arrest, detain, and use force against transgressors. A training manual that was examined by ICCT mentions that “sheriffs and their deputies must be qualified and trained in the expert use of force, to arrest and detain suspects, convicted criminals, and enemies of the republic.” (NB: the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, not a republic. This reference could allude to a different type of State that sovereigns envision). Moreover, the document states that “all sheriffs must be armed and equipped with protective gear.”
Against the backdrop of the group’s public advocacy for arming its members, the currently ongoing trial of a Common Law sovereign citizen—who the Public Prosecutor alleges is a ‘sheriff’—attempting to acquire firearms is alarming. It shows that sovereign groups are earnest in their attempts to arm themselves. Coupled with their democratic state rejectionist ideology, the likelihood of an escalation of violence against state and democratic institutions increases. Moreover, as ICCT’s report indicates, efforts are made to actively recruit members with a military or law enforcement background. This is corroborated by previous convictions of Dutch Common Law sovereign citizens on weapon charges. In September 2023, a veteran was sentenced to eighteen months jail (twelve of which are probationary) for attempting to purchase firearms. The Public Prosecutor alleged that the man had intended to disseminate these firearms to other veterans, although the court did not rule this sufficiently evidenced. Nevertheless, this case, along with other cases of active-duty and veteran sovereign citizens in neighbouring countries such as Germany raises concerns about the tactical experience, technical expertise, and operational capabilities of Common Law and other sovereign citizen groups to handle firearms.
