A Utah man shot several times by police officers during a traffic stop is possibly connected to the sovereign citizen movement, a group of people who are described by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as believing they are “sovereign” from the U.S. and don’t have to answer to “any government authority.”
Officers with the Farmington, Utah, police department stopped 25-year-old Chase Allan on the afternoon of March 2 after seeing an illegitimate license plate on the back of the BMW he was driving, which read “Notice, private automobile not for hire.” The plate also had the letters “ASN,” standing for American State National.
Police Chief Eric Johnsen said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Allan refused to “provide identification or cooperate with the officer in any way.” After multiple refusals, Allan eventually pulled out a passport. The officer who pulled Allan over called for assistance, and four other officers arrived.
After “exhausting” attempts to convince Allan to get out of the car on his own, an officer opened a car door and attempted to physically remove Allan from it, Johnsen said.
UTAH MAN SHOT SEVERAL TIMES BY POLICE DURING TRAFFIC STOP AFTER OFFICERS ALLEGEDLY SEE GUN: VIDEO
Farmington, Utah, police officers stopped 25-year-old Chase Allan after seeing an illegitimate license plate on the BMW he was driving at 3:22 p.m. on March 1. Police Chief Eric Johnsen released body camera video relating to the incident on Wednesday. (Farmington Police Department )
When one officer reached to pull Allan out of the car, a separate officer yells “gun, gun, gun!” Body camera video shows multiple shots being fired at Allan. Police say there was a holster under Allan’s jacket, and that the “holster has flex movement” just before police began shooting. Officers rendered aid to Allan, but he later died at a local hospital.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani, who has prosecuted cases involving people associated with the sovereign citizen movement, told Fox News Digital that Allan has “all the telltale signs” of being part of the movement.
Rahmani pointed to his illegitimate license plate and one exchange between Allan and the officer, where the 25-year-old says, “If you want my identification, you will be under duress, and you accept surety and trusteeship over it, and you will be responsible for any debts that you are trying to incur here.”
When the police officer told Allan that he was being stopped because there’s no registration on the car, Allan said, “I don’t need registration and I don’t answer questions.” At this time, the officer requested backup, and four other officers arrived at the scene. (Farmington Police Department )
“They believe that the federal government’s authority is not legitimate and that the only reason that they have any authority is because people willingly or unwillingly consent to their authority,” Rahmani said. “They basically opt in. So they try to do everything they can to basically not participate in anything that is related to the federal government and actually do things like Social Security taxes, because they believe that once you do that, then you kind of enter into this contract with the government and then you’re sort of on the hook for any laws.”
According to the FBI, people within the sovereign citizen movement “clog up the court system with frivolous lawsuits and liens against public officials to harass them.” Ultimately, the FBI states that people who subscribe to the movement “believe they don’t have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities.”
UTAH FAMILY OF RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE KILLED BY POLICE DURING TRAFFIC STOP DEMANDS ANSWERS: ‘STONEWALLING US’
The March 2 traffic stop wasn’t Allan’s first time dealing with law enforcement.
Chase Allan was with his mother in a Davis County, Utah, courtroom on Sept. 21, 2022, when she was fighting a citation for driving with invalid license plates.
The officer asks Allan to step out of the car, and he replies “No, I am not required to.” (Farmington Police Department )
Officials said a gun was located on the floor of the front seat after Allan was shot and removed from the car. (Farmington Police Department )
In audio from the courtroom, obtained by Fox News Digital, a bailiff can be heard entering the courtroom and said that “we have a warrant for your arrest,” to Chase Allan.
“What warrant? What evidence? Provide probable cause,” Allan said.
“This is battery and assault,” Chase Allan can be heard screaming as he was taken into custody. “This is treason!”
When asked if there’s anything that the bailiffs can do to get Chase Allan to comply, he says, “I am not complying.”
Diane Allan then calls 911 and says that “someone is being assaulted” in the courtroom.
“Our rights are being violated, there has been an assault and battery,” Allan said. “I’m at the Davis County Justice Department and I’m being assaulted! I need help. They have been placing their hands on me, forcing me to do things I don’t want to do.”
After a bailiff told Diane Allan that she would be taken into custody if she didn’t hang up the phone, she left the courtroom.
WATCH: Bailiff arrests Chase Allan in courtroom
A probable cause affidavit for Chase Allan’s Sept. 21, 2022, courtroom arrest obtained by Fox News Digital states that he “became disruptive and non compliant” during the court hearing, adding that he “refused to comply with Davis County Court Deputies and began to resist officers.” The probable cause affidavit also states that Chase Allan refused to identify himself several times.
Chase Allan was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, interfering with an officer, disrupting a meeting, manufacture/possession of burglary tools, and failure to disclose identity. He was released from jail one day later under certain conditions.
UTAH FAMILY OF RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE KILLED BY POLICE DURING TRAFFIC STOP DEMANDS ANSWERS: ‘STONEWALLING US’
Police noted that Allan’s holster was empty after he was removed from the car. (Farmington Police Department )
WATCH: Utah police fatally shoot man during traffic stop after he allegedly reached for gun
A similar exchange played out when Chase Allan was pulled over on March 2.
“If you want my identification, you will be under duress, and you accept surety and trusteeship over it, and you will be responsible for any debts that you are trying to incur here,” Allan told the officer.
“You are not allowed to stop me,” Allan said before handing over his passport.
When the officer reads the passport, Allan said, “That is not me. That is a piece of plastic paper.”
“So you have a fraudulent passport?” the officer asked, to which Allan responded, “No.”
The officer then asked Allan to step out of the car, and he replied, “No, I am not required to.”
“If you don’t step out of the car, we’re going to break the window and pull you out,” one officer said.
“We’re going to have an issue,” Allan responds to the officer.
Rahmani said people within the sovereign nation movement “feel that if you don’t object, then they might somehow be swept up into the overall system.”
Allan’s family said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Chase’s death is a “brutal murder,” adding that they weren’t notified of his passing by officials, but instead learning of his death from local media reports. (Allan Family)
“So they’re constantly sort of yelling and pushing back in court and the police officers try to resist any type of federal authority,” Rahmani said.
Allan’s family said in a previous statement to Fox News Digital that Chase’s death is a “brutal murder,” adding that they were not notified of his passing by officials and only learned that he had died.from local media reports.
“Police are stonewalling us. Our family has not been permitted to see Chase and has not been contacted by authorities or justice departments with information surrounding this investigation. Chase lived at home with his parents in Farmington. Our family was not properly notified of Chase’s death as next of kin. We found out about Chase’s death along with the entirety of our community via News Reporters and Articles written online,” the family said.
