‘Freeman’ Holds to Zealous but Polite Protest

He claims he has no Social Security number or driver’s license and maintains that he does not have to pay taxes because he is a “natural-born yeoman and freeman.”

When cited for riding a motorcycle without a helmet, Timothy Paul Kootenay of Thousand Oaks responded with a rambling document stating Ventura County had no jurisdiction over him.

Now, faced with felony charges that he used worthless money orders to buy half a dozen assault weapons, Kootenay remains a zealous but polite government protester.

Appearing in court Wednesday, the tall and beefy tree trimmer kept a running patter with Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren, asking and answering questions about his rights that were peppered with “yes sirs” and “no sirs” during his five-minute court appearance.

Perren agreed to postpone Kootenay’s arraignment for three weeks to allow him enough time to get an attorney.

Kootenay, 35, is accused of using bogus money orders obtained from a militant anti-government group called the Family Farm Preservation.

And he has spoken openly and often about his anti-government views while sending Ventura County court officials and post office workers notes in which he claims he is a “freeman” who is “free of the United States and the state of California” and that he does not recognize the United States, California or Ventura County.

Most telling are the documents he mailed to court officials when he was cited last year for the helmet violation.

“I am not subject to the limited and allegedly exclusive territorial or political jurisdiction and authority of the United States,” Kootenay claimed at one point in his single-spaced, 21-page self-titled “preamble” that quotes such diverse sources as the Magna Carta and the Internal Revenue Service code.

Instead, Kootenay claimed he lives in the “Second Judicial District, Rancho Santa Rosa Township.” And, he concluded, he would appreciate it if government officials would stop pestering him with rules and regulations he does not adhere to and that “you will further note that any attempt to place my name in all capital letters is now and will be considered inaccurate in all particulars.”

With the help of Secret Service investigators, a Ventura County grand jury indicted Kootenay last month on six felony charges of using fictitious money orders to buy six semiautomatic assault rifles from an Oklahoma City gun store. Prosecutors allege that Kootenay obtained the bogus money orders from Family Farm Preservation in Wisconsin and bought the guns using United Parcel Service.

“We haven’t located any of the six guns,” prosecutor Mark Aveis said.

An arrest warrant was issued March 7 when Kootenay failed to honor a grand jury subpoena to testify. Montana officials arrested Kootenay at a Bible camp in the remote part of that state Sunday, and he was returned to Ventura on Tuesday. He remains jailed in lieu of $25,000.

But he apparently is keeping up his militia-related protest against all government even in jail, where he has refused to sign his fingerprint card.

“Thank you, sir,” Kootenay said in a soft voice when Perren refused to order him to sign the card, saying it was a matter between Kootenay and sheriff’s officials.

“Don’t thank me,” Perren advised, warning that his refusal to sign the card could possibly be used against him in court later.

“OK, sir,” Kootenay responded before easing his 6-foot, 4-inch frame back into his seat.