ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: doi.org/10.54208/1000/0006 127
According to David Straight, Lawrence’s co-facilitator,
as of March 2023 there are 22 million ASNs (Hey good
news everyone, 2023). In December 2022, the US ASN
population was purported to be 15 million, up from 2.5
million in May 2022 (HEY ALL, 2022). No evidence
supports those claims. Both David and Bonnie Straight
follow the model/methods of Lawrence, the other
sovereign citizen/QAnon leader with whom they
frequently interact.
How-to guides and templates for documents are
commonly posted in Lawrence’s Telegram group.
Members are encouraged to read, study, and use these
materials when engaging courts, law enforcement,
CPS, and other agencies. These tactics and documents
will supposedly both separate an individual from the
“corporate system,” and insulate them against legal
trouble. Lawrence also regularly advises individuals
to fire their attorneys and to represent themselves. He
claims that attorneys are “professional liars” acting
on behalf of the (B)ritish (A)ccreditation (R)egistry
(BAR) Association (To the people, 2022). The BAR
conspiracy theory is common among pseudolaw
adherents (Netolitzky, 2019) and involves the idea that
lawyers have secretly taken oaths to the British Crown
(McRoberts, 2019).
Lawrence’s Telegram message board links to many
resources: videos, court citations to cases believed to
support ASN legal theories, advertised paid events
conducted by Lawrence and David Straight costing
between $90 to $200, and virtual discussion rooms
for participants who are in the process of becoming
an ASN. The ultimate goal for group members is to
retrieve a “non-citizen national passport” that ASNs
believe certifies their ASN status with the United States
Department of State. In return for “correcting their
status” with the United States Department of State,
ASNs are allegedly granted a special passport that they
assert provides limited diplomatic immunity. Limited
diplomatic immunity affords them special legal status:
“Do not detain, Do not Interrogate, 50 state concealed
carry for life.” The ASN’s personal name and status as
an official ASN are supposedly listed in a LexisNexis
database, accessible to all law enforcement in the
country (American State National, 2022). LexisNexis is
a privately operated, subscription-based legal database
and information resource center. As a fully certified
ASN, these persons operate under the illusion that
they are free to follow their own set of laws without
government interference.
Group members are encouraged to be patient and to
follow the systematic process taught in paid seminars
and outlined on the website. Lawrence frequently
acknowledges that becoming an ASN may take years.
Constant study is key, he says. Lawrence and other
group members commonly reference the Bible and
God in their discussions. Group members believe
certain biblical teachings are complementary to the
Constitution of the United States and, by extension, the
ASN process. A repetitive theme is maintaining faith
in God. Faith promises to sustain many in the group
through the long and expensive journey of becoming an
ASN. To improve, then achieve, high ASN status, ASN
leaders encourage seekers to patiently and faithfully
move through many levels of teachings, which also
financially benefits these leaders themselves.
For those not attending the seminars, group members
can purchase a “thumb drive” sold by David Straight
for $80 (State National Community, 2023a). The drive
contains information that supposedly will teach one
how to become an ASN:
Supposedly, all proceeds from the thumb drive
donations help fight against human trafficking (Have
you been, 2022).
The ASN community is now facing the inevitable
challenge that occurs when their false law concepts
have failed when persons attempted to use them. The
high-profile police shooting and death of Chase Allan
in March 2023 highlights the problematic consequences
of the belief among ASNs that the “noncitizen national
• Level one of the ASN process involves
“correcting your status.” (State National
Community, 2023b).
• Level two involves commerce, the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), and trusts (State
National Community, 2023b).
• Level three cancels voter registration, and
rescinds marriage and birth certificate
signatures (State National Community,
2023b).
According to David Straight, Lawrence’s co-facilitator,
as of March 2023 there are 22 million ASNs (Hey good
news everyone, 2023). In December 2022, the US ASN
population was purported to be 15 million, up from 2.5
million in May 2022 (HEY ALL, 2022). No evidence
supports those claims. Both David and Bonnie Straight
follow the model/methods of Lawrence, the other
sovereign citizen/QAnon leader with whom they
frequently interact.
How-to guides and templates for documents are
commonly posted in Lawrence’s Telegram group.
Members are encouraged to read, study, and use these
materials when engaging courts, law enforcement,
CPS, and other agencies. These tactics and documents
will supposedly both separate an individual from the
“corporate system,” and insulate them against legal
trouble. Lawrence also regularly advises individuals
to fire their attorneys and to represent themselves. He
claims that attorneys are “professional liars” acting
on behalf of the (B)ritish (A)ccreditation (R)egistry
(BAR) Association (To the people, 2022). The BAR
conspiracy theory is common among pseudolaw
adherents (Netolitzky, 2019) and involves the idea that
lawyers have secretly taken oaths to the British Crown
(McRoberts, 2019).
Lawrence’s Telegram message board links to many
resources: videos, court citations to cases believed to
support ASN legal theories, advertised paid events
conducted by Lawrence and David Straight costing
between $90 to $200, and virtual discussion rooms
for participants who are in the process of becoming
an ASN. The ultimate goal for group members is to
retrieve a “non-citizen national passport” that ASNs
believe certifies their ASN status with the United States
Department of State. In return for “correcting their
status” with the United States Department of State,
ASNs are allegedly granted a special passport that they
assert provides limited diplomatic immunity. Limited
diplomatic immunity affords them special legal status:
“Do not detain, Do not Interrogate, 50 state concealed
carry for life.” The ASN’s personal name and status as
an official ASN are supposedly listed in a LexisNexis
database, accessible to all law enforcement in the
country (American State National, 2022). LexisNexis is
a privately operated, subscription-based legal database
and information resource center. As a fully certified
ASN, these persons operate under the illusion that
they are free to follow their own set of laws without
government interference.
Group members are encouraged to be patient and to
follow the systematic process taught in paid seminars
and outlined on the website. Lawrence frequently
acknowledges that becoming an ASN may take years.
Constant study is key, he says. Lawrence and other
group members commonly reference the Bible and
God in their discussions. Group members believe
certain biblical teachings are complementary to the
Constitution of the United States and, by extension, the
ASN process. A repetitive theme is maintaining faith
in God. Faith promises to sustain many in the group
through the long and expensive journey of becoming an
ASN. To improve, then achieve, high ASN status, ASN
leaders encourage seekers to patiently and faithfully
move through many levels of teachings, which also
financially benefits these leaders themselves.
For those not attending the seminars, group members
can purchase a “thumb drive” sold by David Straight
for $80 (State National Community, 2023a). The drive
contains information that supposedly will teach one
how to become an ASN:
Supposedly, all proceeds from the thumb drive
donations help fight against human trafficking (Have
you been, 2022).
The ASN community is now facing the inevitable
challenge that occurs when their false law concepts
have failed when persons attempted to use them. The
high-profile police shooting and death of Chase Allan
in March 2023 highlights the problematic consequences
of the belief among ASNs that the “noncitizen national
• Level one of the ASN process involves
“correcting your status.” (State National
Community, 2023b).
• Level two involves commerce, the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), and trusts (State
National Community, 2023b).
• Level three cancels voter registration, and
rescinds marriage and birth certificate
signatures (State National Community,
2023b).
