International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 6 2023 138
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes that
LaJune describes herself as a conservative journalist.
The SPLC also uncovered a scam in which LaJune sells
information about supposed hidden corporate trust
accounts that were secretly created by government
actors (Hatewatch Staff, 2018). That is a variation on
the sovereign citizen Strawman Theory. In November
2022, LaJune, then a Jackson County, Missouri
Legislature candidate, was charged with misdemeanor
domestic assault after allegedly pulling a gun in August
2022 on her now ex-partner (Jackson, 2022). LaJune
claimed self-defense, but her own video recording
showed the opposite (Jackson, 2022).
Lajune was also involved in the case of Kevin Johnston,
a Canadian conspiracy theorist and fugitive who was
supposed to turn himself in to the police to serve an
18-month prison sentence, but instead absconded
and attempted to enter the United States (Lamoureux,
2022). LaJune recorded herself driving to the Canadian
border from Missouri to assist the escapee in obtaining
“political asylum in the United States” (Lamoureux,
2022). While attempting to cross the border to the
United States, Johnston got lost in the woods in very
cold temperatures (Lamoureux, 2022). Unable to
locate Johnston, and worried about his safety, LaJune
called United States Customs and Border Protection to
save his life (Lamoureux, 2022). A border patrol agent
eventually located and arrested Johnston. LaJune does
not appear to have been charged for her involvement in
the attempted escape.
C. E~Clause, QAnon, and Parental Abductions
Three cases of parental child abductions have been
linked to E~Clause. E~Clause, which stands for
emoluments clauses, was a Florida-based pseudolaw
group previously run by Christopher Hallett and Kirk
Pendergrass who advocated meritless sovereign citizen
tactics to clients (Hyland, 2021 Wells, &Scheck, 2021).
Hallett, who had his own bad experiences involving
courts and child custody issues, theorized that judges
and lawyers were illegally enriching themselves by
violating the emoluments clause, a provision of the
Constitution of the United States (Wells, &Scheck,
2021). The emoluments clauses are divided into three
provisions: foreign, domestic and ineligibility. The
foreign emoluments clause is meant to prevent sitting
leaders from accepting foreign gifts or payments
(Samee Ali, 2017). The domestic provision prohibits
any change in the President’s compensation to avoid
undue influence (Congressional Research Service,
2021). The ineligibility portion prohibits federal
officials from also serving simultaneously as Members
of Congress (Congressional Research Service, 2021).
Despite his arguments being legally meritless and
having no victories in court, Hallett gained a reputation
for helping mothers who had lost custody of their
children (Hyland, 2021 Sommer, 2020). As described
in more detail below, Hallett was killed via homicide
in 2020 in relation to E~Clause. In April 2021, Hallett’s
son posted a Facebook message that he was shutting
down E~Clause. “Should the work he started continue,
it will be up to others to take up the mantle in his stead.”
1. Emily Jolley
Emily Jolley lost custody of her six-year-old son, likely
as a result of making false allegations of abuse against
her ex-partner, the child’s father (Vaughen, 2020). The
father had full custody. During a supervised visit in
September 2020, Jolley (with suspected assistance from
her mother) kidnapped her son from Utah and took
him to Oregon (Cleary, 2020 Millcreek grandmother
charged, 2020). An amber alert was issued. The child
was eventually returned to his father.
Evidence suggests that Jolley subscribed to both
QAnon and sovereign citizen ideas. In Facebook posts,
she claimed her ex-partner and CPS agencies were
involved in child sex trafficking. Another post claimed
that children seized by CPS are used as a source for
“adrenochrome” that is then consumed by the QAnon
conspiracy elite (Sommer, 2020). Jolley accused the
government agency of having legally “kidnapped” her
son from her. According to family members, Jolley had
been planning the kidnapping for months, or perhaps
even years (Sommer, 2020 Vaughen, 2020).
Jolley’s twin sister said that Jolley became interested
in sovereign citizen tactics (and thus E~Clause) when
attempting to regain custody of her son (Sommer,
2020). During one visit, Jolley asked her then five-year
son to sign his name and provide an ink fingerprint
for “relinquishing his rights as a U.S. citizen” (Vaughen,
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes that
LaJune describes herself as a conservative journalist.
The SPLC also uncovered a scam in which LaJune sells
information about supposed hidden corporate trust
accounts that were secretly created by government
actors (Hatewatch Staff, 2018). That is a variation on
the sovereign citizen Strawman Theory. In November
2022, LaJune, then a Jackson County, Missouri
Legislature candidate, was charged with misdemeanor
domestic assault after allegedly pulling a gun in August
2022 on her now ex-partner (Jackson, 2022). LaJune
claimed self-defense, but her own video recording
showed the opposite (Jackson, 2022).
Lajune was also involved in the case of Kevin Johnston,
a Canadian conspiracy theorist and fugitive who was
supposed to turn himself in to the police to serve an
18-month prison sentence, but instead absconded
and attempted to enter the United States (Lamoureux,
2022). LaJune recorded herself driving to the Canadian
border from Missouri to assist the escapee in obtaining
“political asylum in the United States” (Lamoureux,
2022). While attempting to cross the border to the
United States, Johnston got lost in the woods in very
cold temperatures (Lamoureux, 2022). Unable to
locate Johnston, and worried about his safety, LaJune
called United States Customs and Border Protection to
save his life (Lamoureux, 2022). A border patrol agent
eventually located and arrested Johnston. LaJune does
not appear to have been charged for her involvement in
the attempted escape.
C. E~Clause, QAnon, and Parental Abductions
Three cases of parental child abductions have been
linked to E~Clause. E~Clause, which stands for
emoluments clauses, was a Florida-based pseudolaw
group previously run by Christopher Hallett and Kirk
Pendergrass who advocated meritless sovereign citizen
tactics to clients (Hyland, 2021 Wells, &Scheck, 2021).
Hallett, who had his own bad experiences involving
courts and child custody issues, theorized that judges
and lawyers were illegally enriching themselves by
violating the emoluments clause, a provision of the
Constitution of the United States (Wells, &Scheck,
2021). The emoluments clauses are divided into three
provisions: foreign, domestic and ineligibility. The
foreign emoluments clause is meant to prevent sitting
leaders from accepting foreign gifts or payments
(Samee Ali, 2017). The domestic provision prohibits
any change in the President’s compensation to avoid
undue influence (Congressional Research Service,
2021). The ineligibility portion prohibits federal
officials from also serving simultaneously as Members
of Congress (Congressional Research Service, 2021).
Despite his arguments being legally meritless and
having no victories in court, Hallett gained a reputation
for helping mothers who had lost custody of their
children (Hyland, 2021 Sommer, 2020). As described
in more detail below, Hallett was killed via homicide
in 2020 in relation to E~Clause. In April 2021, Hallett’s
son posted a Facebook message that he was shutting
down E~Clause. “Should the work he started continue,
it will be up to others to take up the mantle in his stead.”
1. Emily Jolley
Emily Jolley lost custody of her six-year-old son, likely
as a result of making false allegations of abuse against
her ex-partner, the child’s father (Vaughen, 2020). The
father had full custody. During a supervised visit in
September 2020, Jolley (with suspected assistance from
her mother) kidnapped her son from Utah and took
him to Oregon (Cleary, 2020 Millcreek grandmother
charged, 2020). An amber alert was issued. The child
was eventually returned to his father.
Evidence suggests that Jolley subscribed to both
QAnon and sovereign citizen ideas. In Facebook posts,
she claimed her ex-partner and CPS agencies were
involved in child sex trafficking. Another post claimed
that children seized by CPS are used as a source for
“adrenochrome” that is then consumed by the QAnon
conspiracy elite (Sommer, 2020). Jolley accused the
government agency of having legally “kidnapped” her
son from her. According to family members, Jolley had
been planning the kidnapping for months, or perhaps
even years (Sommer, 2020 Vaughen, 2020).
Jolley’s twin sister said that Jolley became interested
in sovereign citizen tactics (and thus E~Clause) when
attempting to regain custody of her son (Sommer,
2020). During one visit, Jolley asked her then five-year
son to sign his name and provide an ink fingerprint
for “relinquishing his rights as a U.S. citizen” (Vaughen,
