Sharp County authorities say two individuals claiming to be members of a sovereign citizen group known to have engaged in violent confrontations with law enforcement have been arrested after allegedly squatting on a property outside of Evening Shade.
According to a release from Sharp County Sheriff Shane Russell, an investigation opened in August 2023 regarding two unidentified individuals who had moved an RV and an enclosed trailer onto someone else’s property on Highway 56. Despite multiple warnings to leave the properties and eviction notices, the two individuals built a permanent structure, dug a septic line, installed solar panels, and began to store large amounts of water.
The two individuals said they were members of a sovereign citizen group known as the Moorish National Republic. The release said the two provided law enforcement with a false legal document claiming the ground was sovereign property and said they could not be forced to leave.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Moorish sovereigns, called Moors, have come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations.
On Thursday, Russell’s department, along with the assistance of the Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Game and Fish, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the 3rd Judicial District Drug Task Force, and the Jonesboro Police Department, executed a search warrant on the property and arrested the two individuals without incident; however, they still refused to identify themselves.
Russell said investigators believe they know the identities, but will not release any names until the investigation is complete. At one point during the investigation, the sheriff said one of the subjects identified himself as “Saleem Yosiyah YisraEl.”
Upon the search warrant’s execution, investigators discovered multiple vehicles on the property with fictitious license plates linked to the sovereign citizen group, evidence of postal and internet scams, and several thousand dollars worth of Iraqi currency, according to the release.
Russell said the items were seized by the sheriff’s office, and the investigation will continue. He also noted his department is in contact with the FBI concerning the fraudulent documentation and other cybercrimes allegedly discovered during the investigation.
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, “…Moorish sovereigns claim to be descendants of Moors who inhabited the Kingdom of Morocco, which signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the US in 1786 that officially recognized America as a sovereign nation. Moorish sovereigns cite that treaty to claim that Moors in the US have sovereign status, meaning they would be exempt from normal laws and regulations.”
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