Three arrested near Joshua Tree
Three people, self-described “sovereign citizens,” were arrested Saturday near Joshua Tree National Park after officials found explosives in a vehicle and at their residence, authorities said.
Deputies with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department found the three to be illegally in possession of an “improvised militarygrade explosive device” as well as other explosives, ammunition and firearms, according to a news release from the department.
Deputies pulled over Jeffery Russell, 46, and David Russell, 50, who were in a white Ford Taurus, at about 10 a.m. Saturday on Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley, on allegations of vehicle code violations, the release said.
Both men claimed to be sovereign citizens, people who are typically antigovernment and consider themselves to be exempt from U.S. laws, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center; the nonprofit tracks such extremist movements and has linked violent incidents to the sovereign citizens movement.
Deputies said they determined that the men were prohibited from owning or possessing firearms; the news release did not say for what reason. The Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to questions about this or fulfill a request for a copy of the incident report.
Upon a search of the vehicle, deputies found “live ammunition, black gun powder and an improvised militarygrade explosive device,” the release said.
Deputies later obtained a search warrant for the men’s property, which they described as a “remote sovereign citizen compound” in Johnson Valley, about 30 miles north of Yucca Valley, the release said.
There, deputies found Venus Mooney, 54, as well as additional military-grade explosives, more ammunition and firearms.
The sheriff’s Bomb and Arson Division was called to safely dispose of the explosives, the release said.
The Russells and Mooney were arrested and booked at the Morongo Basin Jail on charges of possession of an explosive device and possession of a controlled substance while armed, the release said.