" Sovereign citizens are people who reject their U.S. citizenship and don't recognize government authority, like laws and taxes. In 2009, the FBI started paying closer attention to the movement, which previously had been grouped with the militia movements in the bureau's domestic counterterrorism operations. Many people who claim to be followers of this movement are involved in white collar crimes like tax evasion schemes and making fraudulent documents, the FBI said. "

" Common law courts are only an important aspect of the Patriot movement. These vigilante courts use many tactics to make their presence known and to attempt to disrupt the traditional legal system. These tactics are collectively known as "paper terrorism." Typically, common law court members issue judgments against people and file liens against property in an attempt to enforce the judgments. Sometimes, these bogus liens are little more than a nuisance. Other times, the liens wreak havoc on their victims by clouding title to property, and it is often expensive to have these bogus liens removed. Members of the Patriot movement also set up shadow governments with their own officers and officials as a form of revolt against the federal government. For example, the freemen of Montana formed "Justus Township" and appointed their own "public" officials. Patriots who attempt to print their own currency and pass bogus checks feel that their own government is legitimate and that they can back their currency by their own faith and credit in the same manner as does the United States government. "

" Also known as citizen grand juries, common law courts are self-elected vigilante organizations that claim for themselves the authority of law. The Freemen, along with their fellow travelers in the Christian Patriot movement, use these courts to declare themselves outside the jurisdiction of federal and state laws, issue harassing liens against the property of political opponents, and proclaim their right to arrest, judge, and even kill their opponents. "

"Militia rhetoric is being heard widely once more, often from a second generation of ideologues, and conspiracy theories are being energetically revived or invented anew. "Paper terrorism" — the use of property liens, bogus legal documents and "citizens' grand juries" to attack enemies and, sometimes, reap illegal fortunes — is again proliferating, to the point where the government has set up special efforts to rein in so-called "tax defiers" and to track threats against judges. What's more, Patriot fears about the government are being amplified by a loud new group of ostensibly mainstream media commentators and politicians."