Monongahela ‘sovereign citizen’ walks out of his DUI hearing
CHARLEROI – A Monongahela man declared himself a sovereign citizen before walking out of his preliminary hearing Monday in a drunken driving case.
The move resulted in a Washington County Court bench warrant being signed against Timothy Parsons, seeking his arrest for missing his hearing before District Judge Larry Hopkins, a court official said.
Monongahela police charged Parsons, 53, with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count each of resisting arrest, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia stemming from a Jan. 22 traffic stop. Hopkins withdrew one of the DUI counts and ordered Parsons’ case forwarded to the county court, records show.
The sovereign citizen movement is a group that doesn’t believe its members are subject to U.S. and municipal laws.
Monongahela police Chief Brian Tempest said everyone who chooses to live in the United States has to abide by the same laws.