Calgary police consult Crown over possible charges in sovereign citizen dispute

CALGARY – Calgary police say they will consult with the Crown on whether they can get involved in a two-year dispute between an Alberta pensioner and the man she says has claimed her rental property as a sovereign “embassy.”

Rebekah Caverhill says she has been billed for renovations the man did inside the home and that he had a lien placed on the property.

Caverhill says the man calls himself a “Freemen-on-the-Land,” is only playing about half the rent, and has already ignored one eviction notice.

Police initially referred Caverhill to the civil courts, but Acting Insp. Julien Gagne now says officers are consulting with Crown prosecutors to see if there are any criminal charges that can be laid.

He says it is unlikely charges will be laid, but investigators want to make sure.

Gagne says so-called sovereign citizens haven’t been as serious a problem in Canada as they have been in the United States, but he does note there is a mandatory training course about the movement that all Calgary police officers are required to take.