Previously:

• 'Cult' members found guilty of trying to kidnap Essex coroner
• 'Cult' members jailed over Chelmsford coroner kidnap plot

> UK Organised Pseudolegal Commercial Argument (OPCA) schemes (including sovereign citizens and freeman on the land) predominantly consist of anti-government activists who misapply English common law in the belief that Clause 61 of the Magna Carta is legally relevant (spoiler: it never was) and applies across the whole of the country (spoiler: it never did). The ideology, which dates back to the 1970s in its native USA, first started to gain momentum in the UK around 2010 and boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic with antivax, anti-lockdown, and COVID-19 denialism sentiment. The movement has developed its own media outlets and its own illegal schools. > > ... > > The pseudolegal concept of lawful rebellion, known within the UK's OPCA movements as the one true law, comes from Clause 61 of the original 1215 Magna Carta which called for the election of a group of 25 barons to keep “the peace and liberties […] granted by this charter" with the right for them to "claim immediate redress" if any of the articles were broken. This version of the charter was struck down by the Pope within a couple of months and subsequent versions did not include this clause. It is, nonetheless, held up by far right and anti-establishment activists as justification for rebellion against the legal and political "elites". > >And while some are engaged in willful defiance of laws passed by elites that they consider unjust, there are also those, notes The Law Society's Ellie Cumbo, who due to a lack of basic legal knowledge, exacerbated by poor advice found online, get swept along by the wrong idea about how law works. > > The freeman on the land movement crossed over to the UK with organisations such as the British Constitution Group and people such as the late John Harris (who later regretted joining the freeman movement), Brian Gerrish, Raymond St Clair (a notorious conman and man of many aliases) and Dominic Lohan (a.k.a., CommonlyKnownAsDom). Freeman arguments came to UK public attention when they tried recruiting amongst the more anarchist-leaning protesters at the Occupy London protests in late 2011, and even got two articles in the Guardian. These were promptly slapped down by actual lawyers who detailed how this was dangerous idiocy that would send you directly to jail. Freeman ideas are now an object of amusement for the British legal profession. > > ... > > Where are they getting this from? > >A number of organisations promoting OPCAs have sprung up across the country which have been identified as primary sources of (dis)information for many in the UK sovereign citizen movement. > >UK Column > >UK Column is a website edited by Brian Gerrish featuring conspiracy theories and antisemitism which was launched in 2006 as self-published newspaper the Devonport Column with a readership of around 500 people in the Plymouth area to expose an elaborate scheme to lie to the people that Gerrish believed the local council were engaged in. Gerrish who is a prominent figure in the British Constitution Group and the Lawful Rebellion movement has subsequently extended its reach. > >Common Law Court > >Common Law Court is a £50-per-month subscription website run by Darral Pinch (May 1968–) and Laraine Pinch (February 1973–) which supplies “identity cards,” other fake legal documents, and even attempted its own cryptocurrency, to help members “reclaim [their] rights.” > >Pinch was initially a strong supporter of New Zealand pseudo-journalist and conspiracy theorist Joseph Gregory Hallett's claim to the British throne as King John III, stamping the series of pseudolegal documents Hallett produced to support his claim with the validation of Common Law Court. Fortunately, Pinch saw the error of his ways just in time to attend the coronation of unemployed security guard Gareth Barrett who proclaimed himself to be King Arthur. > >Alpha Men Assemble > >Alpha Men Assemble is a far-right paramilitary group founded to protest COVID-19 vaccines, which describes itself as "free thinking men and women living as sovereign beings under common law". It held "direct action" training sessions across the UK for breaking through police lines, marching in formation and sparring.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/19262761

> >Members of an "anti-establishment cult" have been jailed for up to seven years for storming a court with handcuffs and trying to kidnap a coroner. > > > >Mark Christopher, 59, led the group that tried to shut down Essex Coroner's Court in Chelmsford having accused senior coroner Lincoln Brookes of "interfering with the dead" in April 2023. > > > >Matthew Martin, 47, Sean Harper, 38, and his wife Shiza, 45, were part of the group and believed they could overrule the UK judicial system. > > > >All four were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court having been convicted of conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. > > > >Christopher, of Claremont Road, Forest Gate, east London was also found guilty of sending a letter or email with intent to cause distress or anxiety. > > > >He was jailed for seven years, while Sean and Shiza Harper, of Benfleet Park Road, South Benfleet in Essex, and Martin, of Evelyn Denington Road, Plaistow in east London, were given 30-month sentences. > > > > Mr Justice Goss said the defendants were part of an "anti-establishment cult" who relied on "non-existent powers" to further their aims. > > > > ... > > > > The defendants were part of what law agencies called an "organised pseudolegal commercial arguments" (OPCA) group, usually defined as one that believes its interpretation of law supersedes a state's legal system. > > > >Members had self-conferred legal powers derived from what they believed to be the "true meanings" of words, the court heard. > > > >The group called itself the Federal Postal Court, also known as the Court of the People. > > > >Christopher was the group's "chief judge", with Martin and Sean Harper as his "sheriffs". > > > >Shiza Harper, a former special constable with the Metropolitan Police, held a "postal inspector" role. > > > > The group had "many followers across the country and the world" who held "delusional beliefs", the court was told. > > > >They were sold online courses for thousands of pounds by Christopher, who acted as the group’s "teacher". > > > >Addressing Christopher, Mr Justice Goss said: "I am satisfied that you are intelligent, persuasive, manipulative and dishonest. > > > >"Your group, of which you are the self-appointed leader, preys on the vulnerabilities of others, particularly those in financial difficulties, who you are able to persuade to pay you significant sums of money and to do your bidding. > > > >"You clearly recruited your co-defendants to your ideology [and] took a considerable amount of money from Sean and Shiza Harper." > > > > The court heard Christopher sent Mr Brookes a series of letters between March 2022 and April 2023, accusing him of being a "detrimental necromancer" who must face corporal punishment, including beating with cattle prods. > > > >Another letter said: "Mark Christopher will seek the death sentence for damage and for insidious conduct delivered at the court by the coroner". > > > > ... > > > > Narita Bahra KC, representing the Harpers, said they were in Christopher’s "thrall" due to "the level of control and dominance he had". > > > >She claimed they had been "on a trajectory of awakening" since the trial. > > > >They were "pressured" to pay more than £30,000 to take part in online courses ran by Christopher, including a “mortgage elimination” scheme, Ms Bahra said. > > > >“The pernicious veil of the first defendant has impacted every aspect of Mr and Mrs Harper’s life,” she said. > > > >In his mitigation, Martin claimed to have been acting with King Charles III’s approval to tackle "state child trafficking" on Christopher’s behalf. > > And previously... > > * 'Cult' members found guilty of trying to kidnap Essex coroner