Purported Florida ‘Sovereign Citizen’ And Convicted Felon Charged With Having Gun On Property Of Middle School

Bruce C. Hicks: Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, via Twitter.

Purported Florida “sovereign citizen” Bruce Chalmers Hicks was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office after he was seen carrying a sidearm and stepped on the property of Turkey Creek Middle School near Plant City, authorities said. Plant City is situated in the Greater Tampa region.

Hicks, 46, was arrested Thursday and is being held by the Hillsborough Department of Detention Services. Bond was set at $9,750, according to his booking sheet. He is charged with possession of a firearm on school property, felon in possession of a firearm and the open carrying of a weapon. The sheriff’s office announced the arrest on Twitter.

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Hicks served seven years in prison after his 2004 conviction for molesting a child under the age of 12.

From the Times (italics added):

Hicks’ name may be familiar to many local elected officials because, according to court records, he has sued many of them.

From Brandon Patch (italics added):

“Upon initial contact with Hicks, he stated there was a $250 fine for every
fifteen minutes of unlawful detention,” according to the report. “He stated that he is a sovereign citizen and is not subject to the laws of the United States or Hillsborough County. Deputy Diaz asked him if he was carrying a firearm and Hicks stated that he was and repeated that he was not subject to laws.”

“Sovereign citizens” may have an irrational belief that laws do not apply to them and have been known to engage in “paper terrorism” — the filing of vexatious lawsuits against public officials and litigation opponents. Whether Hicks somehow believed he could make his felonious history go away and regain a right to possess firearms simply by declaring himself “sovereign” was not immediately clear.

In Washington state, AdSurfDaily story figure and purported “sovereign citizen” Kenneth Wayne Leaming — himself a convicted felon charged with possessing firearms — now is claiming a federal judge owes him 208,000 ounces of fine silver. Like other “sovereigns,” he is claiming unlawful detention.

Leaming, 57, was convicted earlier this year on the firearms charges. In the same case, he was convicted on charges of filing bogus liens for billions of dollars against public officials involved in the ASD Ponzi case. Leaming’s previous conviction was for holding no license when piloting an aircraft.

News of the arrest of Hicks came on the same day that the Pensacola News Journal reported that three officers had been cleared of the March shooting death of purported Florida  “sovereign citizen” Jeffrey A. Wright.

Wright, 55, was wanted on warrants for counterfeiting and pointed a pistol at a SWAT Team, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said.