HUFFINGTON POST, VIA THE CANADIAN PRESS: Purported ‘Sovereign Citizen’ (Freeman On The Land) Declares Alberta Woman’s Home His ‘Embassy’ And Files Lien For $17,000

The Huffington Post, via The Canadian Press, is reporting that a purported freeman on the land has filed a lien against the property of an Alberta pensioner and declared her home his “embassy.”

Rebekah Caverhill, the property owner, has been reduced to tears in her dealings with Andreas Pirelli, according to the report.

Meanwhile, government officials have expressed sympathy for Caverhill, but apparently are viewing the matter as a civil dispute between a landlord and tenant, according to the report.

From the report (italics added):

No one came to the door at the home when The Canadian Press sought comment from Pirelli earlier this month.

A black Chevrolet Yukon with tinted windows was parked in front. A decal on the rear window said “No Weapons. No Agents. No Foreign Weapons within 3 metres of a Diplomat of a Foreign Nation.”

Many strange and unsettling events have surrounded purported “sovereign citizens” or “freemen on the land” in the United States and Canada. The schemes sometimes have focused on so-called “squatters” who divine paperwork constructions that flummox real-estate owners and litigation opponents, cloud property titles or transfer the ownership or control of property without the consent of the owners.

In the United States, there have been instances in which purported sovereigns have been charged with burglary after allegedly exercising unlawful control over real estate. Whether Canada’s burglary statute could be used in the matter reportedly pertaining to Caverhill and Pirelli was not immediately clear.

Some “sovereigns” have claimed government, diplomatic or royal titles and diplomatic immunity from prosecution. Others have sought to chill reporting on their schemes by divining constructions by which anyone who reports on such matters will be sued for trademark infringement or suffer other financial penalties.

Alberta’s Justice Minister reportedly told The Canadian Press he’d been sued for “$1,000 quadrillion.” A single quadrillion is one-thousand trillion. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2012 was estimated to be about $16.3 trillion, a tiny fraction of the sum for which the Alberta minister reportedly was sued.

A tearful Caverhill reportedly told the Press she was concerned that the purported freeman was “taking away my rights as a Canadian citizen.”