Driver claiming to be ‘sovereign citizen’ arrested near Bay Bridge toll plaza: police

(KRON) — Officers in the East Bay pursued a suspected DUI driver early Wednesday before he stopped in the middle of Interstate 80 near the Bay Bridge toll plaza and allegedly proclaimed he was a sovereign citizen who did not recognize law enforcement’s authority. Authorities used tear gas to remove the driver from the vehicle and took him into custody, according to the Richmond Police Department.

The incident began around 5:45 a.m. as a Richmond PD sergeant was traveling on westbound Highway 24 south of the Caldecott Tunnel. The sergeant saw a vehicle being driven recklessly and attempted a traffic stop, police said.

“The vehicle failed to stop and continued to drive recklessly,” Richmond police said.

California Highway Patrol officers joined the pursuit as the suspect vehicle traveled onto I-80 westbound in Oakland. Near the Bay Bridge toll plaza, the driver “stopped his vehicle in the middle of the freeway and refused to exit,” Richmond PD said.

During the brief standoff, police said the driver “self-proclaimed that they were a sovereign citizen and did not recognize officers’ authority to stop them.”

The sovereign citizen movement is described as a “large anti-government extremist movement whose adherents believe the government is the illegitimate product of a conspiracy that subverted the original, lawful government,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Authorities used chemical agents to get the driver out of the vehicle, according to RPD. The driver was arrested for suspected DUI and attempting to evade officers. Police said the suspect had an outstanding Alameda County warrant for evading police.

All lanes were blocked for 10 minutes during the standoff and arrest, CHP said.