‘Sovereign Citizen’ Guru Back in Custody, Facing New Charges
An antigovernment “sovereign citizen” indicted nearly three years ago in a money laundering case is back in custody and being returned this week to U.S. District Court in Nevada.
Shawn Talbot Rice surrendered and was arrested on Dec. 22 after a day-long standoff with FBI agents and local police in Seligman, Ariz.
Taken before a federal judge last week in Flagstaff, the 46-year-old Rice was ordered detained without bond after he admitted in court that he’s a flight risk and has no respect for the U.S. judiciary. Now, he faces the prospect of additional federal charges.
Rice was ordered returned to Las Vegas where he and co-defendant Samuel Lynn Davis were indicted in March 2009 on charges of conspiracy and money laundering. The charges resulted from a three-year-long sting operation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Nevada