Check out The Freemen. This is pretty much where this stuff came from, whackos in Montana during the 90s who pulled off the longest standoff with the FBI in American history (may have changed since).

They had their own currency (which some locals would actually accept), and they were very, very good at painting themselves as innocent victims.

I believe that because of them and other groups like The Montana Militia are one of the prime influences for this movement.

It's the same impulse that made medieval people believe they could defend themselves from fairies and demons by saying the right things the right way. Some part of the insanity demands that a person who sees through the illusion can somehow win against the evil conspirators

They're grifters of the self.

takes a certain mental toughness to be kind.

If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough

Similarly same is happening in Czechia. Sovcivs claim Czechoslovakia splitting wasn't constitutional or something like that. Similar idea, same bunch of dumb fucks.

Wasn't it a group of Reichbürgers that got arrested last year for planning a coup in a partnership with right wing military officers?

I find them baffling, what's their deal?

Is it like a religion for them or is there an actual religion?

It's mental illness and wishful thinking all wrapped up together. They believe whole heartily that if they don't agree to the rules of society they are under no obligation to follow societies rules unless a rule benefits them then they should also benefit. I'm sure there are some who are just using it to grift but I believe a majority of them honestly have some form of mental disability because I watched the trial for Darrel Brooks who decided to drive through a crowd at a parade killing six people and injuring several others and he was literally dumbfounded that he was found guilty because he believed the law didn't apply to him as a sovcit.

You know how some people think that a good lawyer can get anyone out of anything if they find the right loophole? SivCits take that to an extreme using completely made up rules. For example, your name printed in ALL CAPS refers to a legal corporation, while normal case refers to you as a human being. If your name is ever printed in all caps, such as on a summons to appear in court, that doesn't actually mean you.

They claim they don't have to follow laws because the flag has fringe on it and something, something, maritime laws. So US law doesn't apply to them.

If that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it's because Sovereign Citizen doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I think it's a wild and varied and disorganized mess dreamed up by people who have left the very idea of being reasonable far behind them long ago.

However, a crucial part of it is certain specific capitalization of words. I think some of them had been using caps lock to post rants on discus for too long and think that it has some magical meaning under law...

I say all that to say that they believe that there's a "legal entity" that is invoked when you capitalize versus plain case someone's name (amongst other things)...and that there is a difference between this "legal entity" and the person in a body...which there frankly plainly and obviously isn't.

Despite being told in court by multiple judges that the capitalization of things does not matter, they persist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_citizen_movement#Immunity_from_laws_and_taxes

I thought the capitalization stuff was kind of a side show, but have since realized that not only is it crucial to their belief system, it also serves as a way to identify them on the Internet. If someone strangely insists on capitalizing certain words or phrases every time they use them and is otherwise very unreasonable, there's a good chance they're a sovcit (or should I say SOVCIT? 🙂).

SCs believe that the United States Corporation uses US citizens as security to take out international loans.
For that purpose, the government opens up a secret bank account in the name of every citizen at birth.
If you know the correct magical mumbo-jumbo language, you can release the money deposited in that account for yourself and use it to pay for things, since you aren't a member of the corporation anymore.

Since 2020 this has become a really popular conspiracy in the States, that we are marching towards a "cashless society" that will doom us all.

Had a friend from high school say that not accepting cash is an "illegal transaction" and that the tattoo place he wanted to go to should be investigated for it.

Muricans really do need to all be special little peeps, I guess

TL:DR: People that (incorrectly) think they know the magic words to escape legal consequences.