Police Arrest OKC Man Who Claimed Sovereign Citizenship

A metro driver was arrested after claiming to be a sovereign citizen or not having to abide by state laws.

The unusual interaction was caught on the officer's body camera. 

The officer was on routine patrol in a southwest Oklahoma City neighborhood when he spotted Bryan Jackson, 40, driving a Cadillac SUV without an Oklahoma tag. Instead, Jackson had a sign that read “Church Not For Hire.” 

The officer pulled Jackson over for not displaying a state license plate on the SUV. 

Officer: Are you working with a church or something? 
Jackson: Negative.  My name is Church. 
Officer: I gotcha. So is this like, what is this vehicle for then?
Jackson: It’s for me. 

Jackson told the officer the law allows him to display "Church Not For Hire" on his SUV under certain circumstances. 

Officer: Why does it say not for hire on it? 
Jackson: By law, it has to say that. If I’m conducting commerce, then I would have to say for hire. 

The officer then asked Jackson for proof of insurance. 

Jackson: I’m not required to answer that. 
Officer: OK.
Jackson: By law but if you want to write me a ticket. I’ll go ahead and take the ticket. That way your day go by faster and mine.

The driver refused to tell the officer his date of birth and claimed to be exempt from carrying a driver’s license.                

Jackson: Well, um, I don’t need a driver’s license to drive because that’s for people conducting commerce. The problem is they don’t tell y'all that and they don’t tell the citizens that. 

The officer also noticed the VIN number was missing on the SUV. According to the police report, the SUV was towed and sent to auto theft detectives due to the missing VIN. 

Jackson was arrested on complaints of knowingly removing a VIN, illegal tag display, driving under suspension and failure to show proof of insurance. 

Jackson also told the officer he has a meeting with lawmakers to rewrite state laws and plans to run for president.