Freemen-on-the-Land takes over pensioner's duplex

[grammafreddy]

http://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/989 ... claim-home

Alberta pensioner fights to reclaim home
by The Canadian Press - Story: 98990
Sep 22, 2013 / 11:46 am

An Alberta pensioner says she feels like a prisoner after her rental property was claimed as an "embassy" by a man she says identified himself as a Freemen-on-the-Land, a growing movement of so-called sovereign citizens that is raising concerns with authorities both north and south of the border.

"I am an army of one," says Rebekah Caverhill at her home in Sylvan Lake, near Red Deer. Tears stream down her face.

"I've been beat up so badly by people that should be helping that I don't know where to turn."

Caverhill rented half a duplex she owns in Calgary's upscale Parkdale neighbourhood to a new tenant in November 2011 on the recommendation of a friend.

The renter, Andreas Pirelli, had recently moved to Calgary from Montreal and was a self-described handyman. She says he agreed to "spruce up" the property in return for three months of free rent.

What she thought was a good deal soon turned into a nightmare.

A few months after Pirelli moved in, Caverhill went to inspect the work and she says she found the entire kitchen and bathroom had been gutted. All the doors inside had been removed and the floor of the master bedroom had been painted black, she says.

But Caverhill quickly learned she had much bigger problems.

"He walks me to the door and he's yelling at me, 'I'm a Freemen-on-the-Land,'" Caverhill says.

"I said: 'This is my house, not yours.' He said: 'No. This is an embassy house now and it's mine and you have no rights', so then he slams the door."

She says she discovered the locks had been changed and pounded on the door.

"I said: 'How come the key doesn't work?' He said: 'I changed the locks.' He said: 'It's not your home.'"

Caverhill depends on the rental income to supplement her pension.

Pirelli, who sources confirm also went by the name Mario Antonacci, informed her he was willing to pay $775 a month in rent, less than half the $1,500 plus utilities that she says had been agreed to.

She says she later received an invoice from Pirelli's company — CPC Universal Group — for $26,000 in work done to the home.

"I receive a thing in the mail from the Land Titles Office, that the property has been liened for $17,000," she says.

"I'm at wits' end and somebody says to me: 'Oh they're just a bunch of kooks' and I say: 'No, they're not. They're not kooks — they're crazy, yes, they're dangerous, yes.'

"As far as I'm concerned, anybody who sets up a company or an embassy on Canadian land and calls it a foreign entity, for me, that's a declaration of war."

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."

Pirelli did respond to an email request with a warning sent both electronically and in a letter delivered by courier.

"I don't know who you are? I am telling and ordering to stand down all of the matters that your auhority things (sic) it may have, as this is a private matter," the warning reads. "Any intervening with these private matters have outstandings fees and schedules."

The warning goes on to claim trademarks on the name "Andreas Pirelli" and "The First Nations Sovran Embassy of Earth" and says publishing them "is an infringement of our copyrights, and are subject to trespass of our personal property."

"Everyone PERSON is entitled to their opinion, and what we state are not opinions, but a matter of the fact," the letter says.

Pirelli is listed on his LinkedIn social network page as Senior Chief Justice at Tacit Supreme In Law Court for Sovran Nations Embassies and as Supervisor-Co-ordinator-Estimator of CPC Universal Group of Calgary Division — the same company that placed a lien on Caverhill's home.

The Law Society of British Columbia and B.C. Notaries have both issued warnings about Freemen. In a bulletin last year, the society said the group may number as many as 30,000 in Canada.

RCMP and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police are developing awareness materials for frontline officers and the movement is the subject of upcoming policing seminars in Vancouver and Toronto.

The FBI considers the movement a domestic terror threat in the U.S.

A 2011 FBI report cites several cases where followers have clashed with law enforcement, including the 2010 shootings of two Arkansas officers during a routine traffic stop. It warns the movement is likely to grow, fuelled by the recent economic downturn and the popularity of seminars being held across the country.

"They may refer to themselves as 'constitutionalists' or 'freemen,' which is not necessarily a connection to a specific group, but, rather, an indication that they are free from government control," the report says. "They follow their own set of laws."

But a Freemen-on-the-Land member in B.C. told The Canadian Press earlier this month that violence is not advocated and has no place in the movement.

Caverhill has already served Pirelli with one eviction notice, but he hasn't left.

Attempts to get help from the police and politicians have been referred to the civil courts on the grounds that it's a landlord-tenant problem.

"It's an awful situation and she feels very powerless, so even though this is firmly in provincial jurisdiction we're trying to do everything we can to help and we've spent a lot of time on this," says Druh Farrell, the Calgary alderman who represents the area.

"I hope the province can come to her assistance because that is where the authority lies," Farrell added.

Calgary Police have been called about the matter on several occasions.

"Based on the information we have received so far, this appears to be a civil matter," says Staff Sgt. Jim Stinson.

"We have referred the homeowner to information on possible civil resolutions and will certainly investigate if we receive further details that indicate this may be a criminal matter."

Alberta's justice minister says he has had his own dealings with the sovereign movement, including being taken to court.

"I have been sued before with an 87 page document and the suit was dismissed ... The logic behind it defies me," says Jonathan Denis. "There was also that lawsuit against myself and the former deputy minister. The lawsuit was for $1,000 quadrillion, more than the size of the U.S. national debt."

Denis says he wants to help Caverhill.

"This is her private property. She is the landlord and is entitled to get certain rents from her property. We definitely want to be working to help her out the best that we can."

Before being elected, Opposition Wildrose Party justice critic Shayne Saskiw, a tax lawyer by trade, was named on a Freemen website as a notary that Alberta members should use to get their legal documents certified.

Saskiw says he isn't sure why he was singled out, but believes the sovereign movement is totally out of line.

"They can't declare themselves a sovereign state and declare they are above and beyond the law. What happens is these wackos go around intimidating people with their made up concepts and it has to stop," he says.

"We're looking at ways of potentially making changes to legislation to give judges more powers to stop these contemptible people from placing false liens, abusing legitimate legal processes and protections and taking advantage of people."

The Liberal member of the legislature for the riding is also lending his support Caverhill.

"I don't think we should be punishing people for unusual beliefs, but when they turn into to actions that restrict other people's rights and freedoms then they have to pay a price," says David Swann.

Caverhill is angry and hurt.

"They are taking away my rights as a Canadian citizen. They do not go along with any Canadian rights," she says, wiping away her tears.

"I'm battling somebody who takes advantage of the system. I'm battling the system itself and I thought I had rights and I guess I don't.

"If I don't like the government — I vote. I'm not doing to take matters into my own hands like a vigilante and to me what they're doing is treason."
The Canadian Press

Video on Huff Post (scroll down) http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/22 ... 72510.html

[grammafreddy]

More Freeman news stories ...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.1345486

He introduces himself as "Brian Arthur of the Alexander family," and before he'll answer any questions, he asks a reporter to declare that she is not a government employee.

He drives without a licence and does not pay income tax.

Brian Alexander is a self-proclaimed Freeman-on-the-Land and one of a growing number of Canadian followers of the so-called "sovereign citizen" or "Natural Persons" movement ... more

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/freemen-m ... -1.1262159

A new but expanding group called the Freeman-on-the-Land has caught the attention of Canadian police because of the violent activity of associated groups in other countries ...

Some call the Freemen a harmless fringe movement. However, as The National's Adrienne Arsenault reports, the group may be larger and, for some, more worrying than it appears.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.1144477

The man accused of gunning down two RCMP officers near Killam, Alta., in February has been ordered by the court to stay away from members of an anti-government group known as the Freemen ... more

[Captain Awesome]

Good god, I feel for the lady, the jerk is taking advantage of her. Somebody should come over and kick the guy out. I'll even volunteer to declare myself an independent nation that falls outside of Canadian Law jurisdiction and hence doesn't have to stick to them...

[Bsuds]

If he has declared himself a sovereign nation then she should claim he has weapons of mass destruction and the US will attack him. Problem solved.

[Xia33]

I think this is pretty serious stuff....if it isnt up to the cops, it isnt up to the government (provincial or federal) and it is left up to the Landlord/Tennants Board.....and IF this isn't settled....does it not open up a whole lot of crap for more of these people to be able to get away with? So...in esscence then anyone can proclaim to be sovereign and above the law? Seriously....

[Captain Awesome]

So...in esscence then anyone can proclaim to be sovereign and above the law? Seriously....

No, it's all baloney. But if it was me, I'd use this baloney against them.

"Hi, my name is Tony of the family Knockaround. I represent Independent Republic of Okanagan and I declare a war on your sorry *bleep*. Since we fall outside of Canadian jurisdiction, it's perfectly legal for me to slap you all the way out of this house and then I'll be taking this house as reparation. If you have any complaints, feel free to send them to Galactic Council of Independent Nations at North Pole. If you ever bother this lady again, I might join efforts with Chris of the family Hitstoomuch and be back again"

[matai]

I feel really sad for her, it's so unbelievable nothing can be done on the autorities side to help her.

[Captain Awesome]

I feel really sad for her, it's so unbelievable nothing can be done on the autorities side to help her.

Well, police is right as it is a civil matter. She just needs to serve an eviction notice and hire a sheriff to serve it.

[grammafreddy]

She did get an eviction notice - but he ignored it.

[Fancy]

That house is going to be trashed and she's going to end up in the poor house. Hope someone can step up to help her out.

[matai]

Even if he gets evicted, she'll probably constantly live in fear of retaliation.

[zzontar]

Sometimes the Clint Eastwood approach is the best one. Kick his sorry *bleep* all the way to a third world country so he can see what it's like when people don't pay taxes.

[Veovis]

Perhaps she can charge him with theft. Report the house as stolen.

Also I hope she can sue him and his corporation for a few hundred thousand dollars for emotional pain and suffering, costs and damages.

This guy is about as useless as I can imagine.

[KL3-Something]

I wonder if in Alberta they have provisions in their residential tenancy act(or equivalent) similar to those here. In BC once a few required steps have been taken, including serving an eviction order, the landlord can go before a judge and get on Order of Possession. Once that is signed by a judge it becomes police enforceable. If the guy doesn't leave then the police can remove him and, if required, charge him for being unlawfully in a dwelling house.

Freemen are wackos.

[hobbyguy]

Dangerous wackos unfortunately: http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=2627&t=Practice-Tips-The-Freeman-on-the-Land-movement

Note that many US states have had to change their laws to deal with these guys, and they are classified as domestic terrorists.

There is one note of caution here, the thing about "rent for repairs". That never seems to work out, and the few cases I've come across have all gone bad and resulted in disputes. It's a red flag in my opinion. My daughter just went through that, after I told her it was a bad idea - wound up selling the house to get shed of the headaches (and the tenant).

The whole issue of "tenant's rights" get mucked up by these free-loading wackos. If they get more numerous, who is going to want to be a landlord??