Life as a sovereign citizen: Brodie Finegan Forbes Pt. 1
4/25/202657 min
At 21, Brodie Finegan Forbes found himself in the centre of the sovereign citizen movement, which he calls a ‘decentralised, pseudo-legal cult’.
The combination of a troubled childhood, loss of his burgeoning music career, and societal and psychological pressures led him to 24-hour Zoom ‘echo chambers’ where he learned how to challenge authority, take on judges, and terrorise people with paperwork. He was part of a ‘chosen few’ who had figured out a ‘secret’. At least that's what he thought...
In this episode, Gary chats with Brodie about the lure of the sovereign citizen movement, how he ended up living in a remote Victorian compound, and the bizarre tactics used by the movement to manipulate the law and avoid accountability.
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First 90 secondsGary Jubelin· Host0:00
[upbeat music] The public has had a long-held fascination with detectives. Detectives see a side of life the average person is never exposed to. I spent thirty-four years as a cop. For twenty-five of those years, I was catching killers. That's what I did for a living. I was a homicide detective. I'm no longer just interviewing bad guys. Instead, I'm taking the public into the world in which I operated. The guests I talk to each week have amazing stories from all sides of the law. The interviews are raw and honest, just like the people I talk to. Some of the content and language might be confronting. That's because no one who comes into contact with crime is left unchanged. Join me now as I take you into this world. [upbeat music] Why do people become sovereign citizens? And what are the steps towards radicalization? Today, I speak with former sovereign citizen, Brody Finnigan-Forbes, an interesting character who I'm not really sure how to describe. We talked about a lot of things: violence, drugs, rap music, tattoos, and take a deep dive into the sovereign citizen movement. It was a deeply personal and enlightening chat, which left a real impression on me. Brody Finnigan-Forbes, welcome to, uh, I Catch Killers.
Brodie Finegan Forbes· Guest1:20
Thank you for having me on, Gary. I really appreciate it.
Gary Jubelin· Host1:22
Well, I'm not sure where this conversation's gonna go, but I, I certainly, uh, know that we're gonna delve into sovereign citizenship