International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 6 2023 130
D. David Straight
David Straight is a prominent and popular figure
in the QAnon/sovereign citizen conspiracy theory
community. He makes fantastical claims, including he
is a law enforcement officer and military official. David
Straight has specifically stated that he:
None of these claims have been substantiated.
David Straight routinely holds seminars throughout
the United States and also Canada, averaging 100-650
people in attendance (both online and in-person) (The
Canadian Record, 2022). The cost of a seminar ranges
between $150 and $200. Thematically, he presents
a mixture of debunked sovereign citizen tactics and
QAnon ideas. In seminars, David Straight teaches
how to supposedly save children from CPS, whom he
alleges traffick children (Hines, 2021). Like Lawrence,
David Straight claims that CPS performs satanic rituals
on children (Take action now, 2022). He claims to
have forensic proof. David Straight also claims to have
personally rescued children from “breeders” trafficking
the children in unspecified underground tunnels
(Hines, 2021). David Straight claims to have recovered
over 250 children from the child trafficking clutches
of CPS, and personally helped 40 families hide from
CPS in undisclosed safe houses. Figure 1 is a copy of
a document he encourages his followers give to CPS,
if CPS attempts to remove children from their homes.
• is a former military special operator with a
high-level security clearance
• is a retired secret service agent
• is a former county Sheriff Deputy
• is a Texas Ranger
• is a Navy SEAL
• served on a presidential task force under
Donald Trump
• created paperwork that has influenced over
800 victories in court and
• is a member of Ammon Bundy’s (as discussed
later) defense team.
(Hines, 2021).
Figure 1 -Document created by David Straight to be given to
CPS by parents, if CPS attempts to remove children from a
home.
A 2021 Vice documentary characterized David Straight
as someone who makes false claims and who takes
advantage of individuals who have lost their children
due to CPS involvement. The documentary featured
the case of Tim Colburn and his wife, who temporarily
lost custody of their daughter after being accused of

ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: doi.org/10.54208/1000/0006 131
neglect (Hines, 2021). Colburn paid David Straight
$6,000 to assist him in restoring his parental rights.
For that money, David Straight advised the Colburns
to file documents with the court that used very specific
sovereign citizen rhetoric designed to (purportedly)
nullify the law of the country and, by extension, CPS.
That process would supposedly then make it illegal
for CPS to remove children from their parents’ or
guardians’ homes (Hines, 2021), Despite these tactics
being wholly ineffective, David Straight continues to
claim his strategies work.
In seminars, David Straight repeats the falsity that
Donald Trump is the 19th president of the United
States, an idea that comes directly from the sovereign
citizen playbook. Factually, Donald Trump was the
45th President of the United States. Some sovereign
citizens believe that an 1871 law turned the United
States into a corporation (Berger, 2016), rendering all
subsequent presidents invalid. This idea stems from a
sovereign citizen belief that when the 14th Amendment
was ratified, all citizens became federal citizens (ADL,
n.d.), and the United States became a corporation and
dissolved its government (Gilbert, 2021). That theory
sparked excitement among QAnon followers, who
incorrectly predicted that Trump would be sworn in
as the 19th president on March 4, 2021 (Narea, 2021).
Instead, Joe Biden was officially sworn in as President
on January 21, 2021 (Cole &LeBlanc, 2021).
A reporter for Vanity Fair observed David Straight
speaking at the Church of Glad Tidings in Yuba City,
California. The Church of Glad Tidings is the same
church where Former National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn accepted a customized AR-15 assault
rifle, and controversially joked that “maybe I’ll find
someone in Washington D.C.” (Finn, 2021). David
Straight told the church audience that he has served
Trump “under three executive orders,” that he is leading
a secret team under the guidance of Melania Trump,
and that he has personally arrested 15,000 child sex
traffickers (Sharlet, 2022). To the best of this author’s
knowledge, these claims have not been substantiated in
any sense.
E. Bonnie Straight
David Straight’s spouse, Bonnie Straight, also speaks
and teaches at ASN seminar events. She is particularly
focused on CPS and its alleged misconduct. A video
featuring Bonnie Straight was posted on multiple
Telegram channels, titled “86% of trafficked children
are trafficked through CPS Child Protective Services.”
The video begins with an unknown man asking Bonnie
Straight’s opinion of CPS. She responds by accusing
CPS--a “for-profit corporation”--of the following:
trafficking children, sending them to other countries,
organ harvesting and leaving children for dead, and
using children in Satanic ritual abuse (Straight.edu.,
2022).
Bonnie Straight then continues to advise on how
to deal with CPS. “Ask them to give you articles of
incorporation” because “they have to have a corporate
charter that is consistent with the Constitution”
(Straight.edu., 2022). She says that all corporations can
be sued “under Monell v Department of Soc. Svcs,.436
U.S. 658 (1978),” which says that you can “sue any
corporation for unconstitutional policies, patterns,
and practices” (Straight.edu., 2022). Bonnie Straight
advises those dealing with CPS to ask CPS officials
and agents these questions: “Are they depriving you
of your child without a hearing? How about a trial by
jury? Did you have a warrant with an affidavit showing
probable cause?” (Straight.edu., 2022). She goes on to
say, “if they haven’t done that then we need to implode
their corporate charter” with a “writ of quo warranto”
(Straight.edu., 2022). Consistent with sovereign citizen
ideology, Bonnie Straight informs people that “they
have a choice to not contract with CPS if they don’t
want to and courts cannot coerce contracts with CPS
on you” (Straight.edu., 2022). If one is compelled to
court, then she advises entering “a notice of appearance,
challenge standing and jurisdiction ...because CPS
can’t force you to use their services. ...It’s all coercive
slavery which is a federal crime forbidden by 18 USC
1583, 1584, and 1585” (Straight.edu., 2022).
The next segment of the video, entitled “Can you
hear it? The end of CPS is coming,” is a recorded
conversation between Bonnie Straight and an unnamed
and unidentified employee of CPS. In the video, Bonnie
Straight is “schooling a CPS worker.” The conversation