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

Résumé détaillé

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…

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 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.

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.

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