Paper terrorism
Encyclopedia
Paper terrorism is a neologism to refer to the use of false lien
s, frivolous lawsuits, bogus letters of credit, and other legal documents lacking sound factual basis as a method of harassment, especially against government officials. These methods are popular among some anti-government groups and those associated with the redemption movement
. Mark Pitcavage
of the ADL
states that these methods were pioneered by the Posse Comitatus. Some victims of paper terrorism have been forced to declare bankruptcy
. An article by the Southern Poverty Law Center
states that another tactic is filing reports with the Internal Revenue Service
falsely accusing their political enemies of having unreported income. Such frivolous lawsuits also clog the court system making it more difficult to process other cases and including using challenges to the titles of property owned by government officials and others. Another method of paper terrorism is filing bankruptcy petitions against others in an effort to ruin their credit rating
s.
The 'Republic of Texas', a militia group claiming that Texas was legally independent, carried out what it called "a campaign of paper terrorism" using bogus land claims and bad checks to try to congest Texas courts.
False lien
A false lien is a lien that has no factual or legal basis, or is based upon false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations. The filing of false liens is sometimes used as a tool of harassment in paper terrorism, often against government officials. The practice was pioneered by the...
s, frivolous lawsuits, bogus letters of credit, and other legal documents lacking sound factual basis as a method of harassment, especially against government officials. These methods are popular among some anti-government groups and those associated with the redemption movement
Redemption movement
The redemption movement consists of supporters of an American conspiracy theory. Redemption theory involves claims that when the U.S. government abandoned the gold standard in 1933, the government pledged its citizens as collateral so that the government could borrow money...
. Mark Pitcavage
Mark Pitcavage
Mark Pitcavage is a historian and critic of far right wing groups and a player of the boardgame Advanced Squad Leader . He works with the Anti-Defamation League and was the creator of the now archived Militia Watchdog website...
of the ADL
ADL
Adl is an Arabic word meaning justice.The abbreviation ADL may refer to:*Activities of daily living, a term used in medicine and nursing, especially in the care of the elderly...
states that these methods were pioneered by the Posse Comitatus. Some victims of paper terrorism have been forced to declare bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. An article by the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
states that another tactic is filing reports with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
falsely accusing their political enemies of having unreported income. Such frivolous lawsuits also clog the court system making it more difficult to process other cases and including using challenges to the titles of property owned by government officials and others. Another method of paper terrorism is filing bankruptcy petitions against others in an effort to ruin their credit rating
Credit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
s.
The 'Republic of Texas', a militia group claiming that Texas was legally independent, carried out what it called "a campaign of paper terrorism" using bogus land claims and bad checks to try to congest Texas courts.