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Two antigovernment extremists, sounding very much like antigovernment 鈥渟overeign citizens,鈥� are attempting to intervene in the federal case stemming from the 41-day illegal occupation of an Oregon wildlife preserve.

Ronald Vrooman, who calls himself a 鈥減rivate attorney general,鈥� and James 鈥淛imi鈥� O鈥橦agan, acting as a 鈥渓egal intervener,鈥� have both filed paperwork with the U.S. District Court in Portland, seeking to participate in the case brought against Ammon Bundy and 25 others.

But federal Judge Anna Brown is having none of it.听

Not only did the federal judge recently refuse to grant the pair legal standing in the case, she ordered the court clerk to return their 鈥渓egal鈥� paperwork and refuse to accept anything further from anyone advocating 鈥渃ommon law courts.鈥�

鈥淲hen the Court receives any submission for this matter that is not from a named party or any attorney admitted to the Bar of this Court representing a named party, the Court directs the Clerk to return the document to the sender with a copy of this Order or seek further direction from this Court as to any particular nonparty submission,鈥� Brown wrote in her court order.

O鈥橦agan filed paperwork last month seeking to be an 鈥渋ntervener鈥� in the case and assist Bundy and the other defendants. He said he doesn鈥檛 view Bundy and the other current defendants as criminals, rather 鈥渨histle-blowers who tried to make a point about government over-reach鈥� when they occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year.

鈥淚 will be asking her to reconsider,鈥� O鈥橦agan, a 61-year-old cranberry farmer from Grayland, Wash., told Hatewatch when he was informed of the judge鈥檚 action.

O鈥橦agan also filed legal papers with the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to re-open the rejected appeal of two Harney County, Ore., ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, whose convictions and sentences led to the refuge occupation.

Sovereign citizens frequently act as their own lawyers, sometimes filing a flurry of legal motions and briefs, many of which are nonsensical and spurious, that amounts to what is often called 鈥減aper terrorism.鈥�

In late February, Vrooman went to a court hearing for Ammon Bundy and his fellow defendants. He stood up in court and told the judge he was a 鈥減rivate attorney general.鈥� The judge told him to return to his seat before entering a court order barring any further meddling.

听鈥淭he Court has received and reviewed communications from Ronald Vrooman, a member of the public who requested in open court during proceedings on Feb. 24, 2016, to participate in this matter as a 鈥榩rivate attorney general,鈥欌�� the judge said.

The federal judge said Vrooman 鈥渋s neither a named defendant nor is he an attorney admitted to the bar of the Court in an attorney-client relationship with a named Defendant in the case.鈥�

Vrooman couldn鈥檛 be reached for comment. Meanwhile, O鈥橦agan wasn鈥檛 at a loss for words in describing in the federal judge鈥檚 actions and his unbridled contempt for judges and attorneys.

Filing his own legal paperwork and fighting what he calls 鈥渢he corruption within the judiciary鈥� is nothing new for O鈥橦agan. For several years, he has been involved in a war with attorneys, judges and the legal system.

O鈥橦agan currently has two voter initiative petitions pending with the Washington Secretary of State. One filed in late March calls 鈥渇or the removal of all state bar members who have infiltrated the legislative and executive branches of our government to make laws to make money from creating arguments between men and women.鈥�

鈥淚 guess I consider myself a 鈥榮overeign,鈥欌�� he responded when asked if he was a 鈥渟overeign citizen.鈥�

鈥淚 acknowledge there are federal and state laws that we need to abide by,鈥� O鈥橦agan said, 鈥渂ut I question whether and how these laws apply when we鈥檙e living in a corporate United States.鈥�

O鈥橦agan said he spent several days at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, meeting with Ammon Bundy and other occupiers, including Robert LaVoy Finicum, who was killed on Jan. 26 at a police roadblock.

O鈥橦agan currently doesn鈥檛 face any criminal charges in connection with the time he spent at the refuge.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 consider myself an 鈥榦ccupier,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 go there with a gun, but with a pen to investigate government over-reach.鈥�

Besides attracting antigovernment extremists and militias, the Malheur occupation also was a magnet for those who believe they can use fictitious common law courts to bring criminal charges against public officials.

Bruce Doucette, a self-proclaimed 鈥淯.S. Superior Court judge鈥� from Denver, went to the Oregon refuge in mid-January, pledging to 鈥渞eview evidence that public officials may have committed crimes.鈥� That effort apparently went nowhere, and days later, Ammon Bundy and other occupation leaders were arrested.

If sovereign citizens and self-declared laywers are an issue in Oregon, the State Attorney General鈥檚 office didn鈥檛 want to talk about it, declining comment through a spokeswoman.

The Oregon State Bar Association has a 16-member Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee that deals with sovereign citizens and other non-lawyers who attempt to be attorneys. David Doughman, chair of committee, told Hatewatch that "paper terrorism" from sovereign citizens is a "real issue鈥� and applauded judge's order.

"The arguments presented are generally incoherent and are wholly unmoored from any recognized American jurisprudence," Doughman said. "I give Judge Brown credit for issuing an order to the court's clerks office directing it to reject such filings. Courts are already heavily burdened with legitimate pleadings from those authorized to file them."听

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