More than half of those aligned with sovereign citizen movement think violence may be needed

A new study has found more than a third of Australians who identify with the sovereign citizen movement support violent extremism.

Further, more than half think violence may be needed to combat perceived injustice.

The Australian Institute of Criminology – a government national research and knowledge centre on crime and justice – has built a profile of people aligned with the sovereign citizen movement.

Public attention focused on sovereign citizens after Dezi Freeman shot dead two policemen in north eastern Victoria in August last year. Freeman was killed in a police raid near the the Victorian-New South Wales border in March.

The institute’s work is based on a survey of 9951 Australians in late 2024, in which 1.8% identified with and held beliefs aligned with the moment.

Those respondents were a diverse group. They were more likely than other respondents to be male and under 35 years, to have had contact with the criminal justice system for violent offences, to own firearms, to engage in frequent religious observance and to have changed religion, and to be serving in the Australian military.

They were also more likely to report various negative life events, to engage in conspiratorial thinking, to hold strong anti-government and other extreme views, to have misogynistic attitudes and to support extremist violence.

Profile of people aligned with sovereign citizen movement

Those aligned with sovereign citizenry were also more likely to be dissatisfied with democracy and to think votes were never counted fairly in elections, as well as believing there was a high degree of political corruption.

While most people in the survey reported having at least one negative event in prior months, people aligned with the sovereign citizen movement reported having had a range of recent such events or changes. These included increased financial stress.

They also often exhibited problematic online behaviour.

Support for the use of violence

Efforts to reduce the risk associated with the sovereign citizen movement must consider how to reduce the availability and attractiveness of online misinformation and propaganda that perpetuates the ideology, and reduce the sharing of narratives and tactics on different platforms that enables the movement to expand globally.

Those aligned with the sovereign citizen movement had “overlapping and intersecting ideologies”.

When asked where they sat on the political spectrum they were more likely to indicate they sat right of centre.

But asked about attitudes associated with left-wing and right-wing radicalisation, they were more likely than other people to agree with both. “Many who held strong right-wing views also agreed with strong left-wing views.”

This may reflect the contemporary radicalisation threat environment, where a growing number of people have extreme views underpinned by mixed ideologies.

However, their views on group dominance and inequality—along with views typically associated with populist right-wing movements, particularly anti-immigration stances—are consistent with the white nationalist views that formed the basis of the movement in the United States.

For this reason, there have been signs of the sovereign citizen movement increasingly converging with the far-right movement in Australia. Conversely, the views in line with left-wing radicalisation are also compatible with their anti-authority and anti‑government ideals. This highlights the diversity of views that actually exist among individuals aligned with this movement, and the challenges associated with responding.