North Carolina Freemen Linked to Montana Freemen
In July, Peter Stern was convicted in North Carolina on seven charges of bank fraud and threatening to kidnap judges. He faces up to 60 years in prison. Stern was a North Carolina freemen and "Chief Justice" of a common law court called "Our One Supreme Court." Like the Montana Freemen, this court issued decisions against government employees and placed bogus liens on these officials' property.
During the trial, it became apparent ideology wasn't the only connection between Stern and the Montana Freemen. His bank fraud charges came from trying to deposit a $1 million "comptroller warrant" he received from LeRoy Schweitzer, a leader of the Montana Freemen, in 1995. Also during the trial, a recorded conversation was played between Stern and Schweitzer, and the FBI confirmed it found documents containing Stern's name at the Freemen's compound, Justus Township.
Stern had not filed income tax returns since 1981. At his trial, Stern wouldn't allow himself to be sworn in, siting a passage in the Bible which prohibits swearing. Two of Stern's fellow common-law justices have been arrested for threatening a federal prosecutor and intimidating an IRS agent. Stern's group may be headed for a fate similar to that of the Montana Freemen. In 1998, nine Freemen were convicted of conspiring against the nation's banking system.