ARKANSAS, US – We all like a spot of independence, but why do some take it to the nth degree?
Do you like paying taxes?
This is not a frivolous question as it is commonly said that death and taxes are the only two things about which not much can be done. No one can avoid – eventually – death and everyone complains that taxes are too high. And yet we pay them – or try not to, inviting possible prosecution.
And while there are no shortage of stories about ‘wasted’ taxpayer money it is nonetheless also true that taxes do a lot of good: roads, schools, hospitals, etc. These services do not provide themselves after all. So yes, there is a lot of good taxes afford us.
Some take their opposition to taxes, and any kind of governance, to extreme limits. They reject any limitations, reasonable or otherwise, sometimes in violent ways. These people are on occasion called ‘sovereign citizens‘.
And their anger over the ‘state‘ can take lives.
On this day in 2010
Two US police officers in West Memphis, Arkansas were shot and killed during a traffic stop by a father and son duo later identified as sovereign citizens. Officer Bill Evans was shot eight times in the chest, back, and arms while Sergeant Brandon Paudert was shot fourteen times in the head, arms, legs, both hands and shoulders.
After listening to this man for almost 30 minutes, I feel that he is expecting and prepared for confrontations with any law enforcement officer that may come in contact with him.
Sheriff Gene Kelly in Clark County, Ohio
The two Kanes, Jerry and Joseph, were both killed by law enforcement officers following their attack. I wonder if they are enjoying their afterlife: I wonder if they have to pay taxes there?
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