Sovereign Citizens, Apartment Embassies, And Secret Government Bank Accounts - Freemen-On-The-Land In Alberta Courts

On September 27, Calgary police arrested Mario Antonacci (also known as Adreas Pirelli) on Quebec warrants originating from a 2007 alleged assault on his former Montreal landlady. While this arrest in itself was not particularly spectacular or unique, it came during a week where Mr. Antonacci was the centre of a media storm regarding his involvement in the Freemen-on-the-Land movement. Mr. Antonacci had caught the public eye by refusing to vacate his Calgary apartment, having declared it an "embassy" and a sovereign nation separate from Canada. The Freemen-on-the-Land movement originated in the United States as a fringe libertarian movement. Its members claim they are "sovereign citizens" and don't recognize the rule of law. This is based on a belief that statute law is contractual, and that individuals may opt out of statutes and are only bound by a nebulous concept called "natural law." This is followed by creative interpretations of the law, which often involves claiming that...