Gun charge sends man to prison

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A Las Vegas man authorities tied to the anti-government sovereign citizens movement was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday on a federal charge of possessing an unregistered machine gun.

Harold Call, 68, had tried to fire his lawyer, Terrence Jackson, and withdraw his plea, but U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson refused to let him do it.

Dawson said Call hurt his standing when he filed several frivolous and "unintelligible" documents challenging the jurisdiction of the court prior to the sentencing. Among other things, the judge said, Call suggested that the American flag standing in Dawson's courtroom was of a "foreign jurisdiction," rendering the court proceedings illegal.

"The defendant has shot himself in this respect," Dawson said. "This is stuff from outer space. This is Twilight Zone stuff."

Even Jackson said his client was his "own worst enemy" and was "listening to the wrong people."

"He's being used by people who are very evil people," Jackson said. "They want to make a martyr out of Harold. He's taking up a false crusade."

Jackson said his client "believes some bizarre political ideologies."

Before Dawson handed out the prison sentence, Call read a brief statement apologizing for "his mistakes," saying he didn't mean to commit any wrongdoing.

But he also insisted that he was being prosecuted because of his political beliefs and said he found it "amazing" that the government felt so threatened by those beliefs.

"My life has been turned upside down because I have a different political point of view," he said.

Call concluded, "For the record, I don't consent to punishment of any kind."

Dawson sentenced him anyway and ordered him to surrender to federal prison officials by Dec. 1.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Damm had urged Dawson to give Call time behind bars to deter him from committing further crimes.

"He's not accepting responsibility for his actions," Damm said.

Afterward, Call said the sentence was "about what I expected," but he declined further comment, saying he was unhappy with the way the media has portrayed him.

Call was one of four people indicted in March 2009 following an undercover FBI investigation into the activities of local sovereign citizens. Agents allege they had been holding seminars teaching followers how to avoid their financial obligations.

According to the FBI, "sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or "sovereign" from the United States. As a result, they believe they don't have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities, motor vehicle departments, or law enforcement."

Last month, U.S. District Judge James Mahan sentenced another member of the group, former FBI agent Jan Lindsey, to five years probation for tax evasion.

During Call's initial appearance in federal court last year, a prosecutor said Call appeared to be preparing for a siege at his home. In a hidden crawl space, he was storing hand grenades, rifles, a gas mask, night vision goggles and a stockpile of food, the prosecutor said.

For three years, FBI agents had infiltrated the sovereign citizens group here, frequently attending their seminars. Members often met in the back room of a small print shop in the shadow of the Orleans Hotel.

Agents believed at the time that Las Vegas had become a major gathering place for the movement in the West.

Among those arrested with Call and Lindsey were Samuel Davis and Shawn Rice, who agents alleged were two of the national leaders of the movement. The men, who do not live in Las Vegas, are facing money laundering charges and have yet to stand trial.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135 or read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.