澳彩开奖

An who was shot dead Sunday night by police in Arizona appears to have been involved with a major sovereign group called the Republic for the united States of America (RuSA).

William Foust, 50, of Page, Ariz., was shot by Officer Shawn Wilson during a fight in which Foust allegedly attempted to wrest Wilson鈥檚 Taser from him, the Arizona Daily Sun yesterday.

The officer was responding to a domestic violence call at B & T Marine,聽 a boat rental business owned by Foust and his wife. Foust fled the scene before police arrived but returned to carry on a 鈥渉eated argument鈥� with the female victim. He was 鈥渦pset, loud, and confrontational with the officer,鈥� the Cononino County Sheriff鈥檚 Office told reporters.

Foust, described by the Sun as a 鈥渨ell-known Page businessman,鈥� was also a well-known sovereign citizen whose hostile reaction to a speeding ticket landed him in jail in December on contempt charges. In typical sovereign fashion, Foust dragged his feet on the ticket for months 鈥� clogging the court with a jumble of papers, refusing to acknowledge the judge鈥檚 authority or tell the judge his date of birth, and failing to appear at a scheduled hearing. Sovereigns typically believe they are not subject to the laws of the United States.

A eulogy for Foust by RuSA鈥檚 鈥渃hief ambassador鈥� suggests that he was deeply involved with the 鈥淩epublic.鈥�

鈥淸I]t can be said without reservation that William Dale Foust will be written about in history books as one of the favorite sons of the Republic and truly one of the present day 鈥楩ounding Fathers,鈥欌�� James Kalm Fitzgerald wrote in a press release that was posted on a range of websites.

Launched in July 2010 with the issuance of a 鈥淒eclaration of Sovereignty for the Republic for the united States,鈥� RuSA promulgates an elaborate anti-government conspiracy theory asserting that that the 鈥渞eal鈥� U.S. Constitution went 鈥渄ormant鈥� in 1871 and was replaced with a fake that made the United States a corporation and enslaved all of its citizens.

The group, which claims to draw authority from the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta, has set up a parallel government consisting of an 鈥渋nterim鈥� president and vice president, and representatives from the majority of states.

From the language of Fitzgerald鈥檚 eulogy, it appears that Foust was involved with RuSA before it circulated its Declaration of Sovereignty last July. 鈥淚t was not much more than a year ago that he was introduced to the principles of law that our Republic is founded upon,鈥� Fitzgerald lamented. 鈥淗e was a selfless player in the re-inhabiting and development of the Republic and all here in Arizona and many throughout the nation looked upon him as a natural born leader with many years ahead of him of service.鈥�

Foust is not the only sovereign whose confrontation with police has ended in bloodshed. Last May, a father-son team of sovereigns two West Memphis, Ark., police officers. At the end of the ensuing police chase, the two sovereigns also lay dead. Since 1995, sovereigns have killed both police and civilians in Idaho, Ohio, New Hampshire and .

The officer who shot Foust will remain on administrative leave while the Coconino County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and Northern Arizona Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Team conduct criminal and administrative investigations, the Sun reports.