Self-Proclaimed "Sovereign Citizen" Shot and Killed by Melbourne Airport Police After Trying to Breach Security Gate | What We Know + Who Are "Sovereign Citizens"?
June 30, 2024
MELBOURNE, Fla --
Melbourne Airport Police Department Police Chief, Renee Purden, talks to the media about the shooting outside the perimeter fence of the Melbourne International Airport.
Police Identify 40-Year-old John Jay Neibuhr, of Palm Bay
According to the Melbourne Airport Police Department, at 9am on Friday, June 28th, John Jay Neibuhr, 40, of Palm Bay attempted to enter a secure area of the airport when he was shot by 2 officers.
Authorities say the man displayed a firearm at the officers and that's when, police say, 2 officers opened fire, shooting him. The officers rendered aid until the ambulance arrived and was transported to the hospital where he died.
Neibuhr, a self-proclaimed "Sovereign Citizen" was no stranger to the law enforcement community.
Records show the Palm Bay Police Department issued a "public safety bulletin" to all local officers in the county.
This marks the second police related shooting in the city in three days.
Past Incidents . . . A Long History of Police Interaction
According to an officer-safety/situational awareness bulletin, Niebuhr was well known to law enforcement. On June 17, officers from the Palm Bay Police Department were called to the 3200 block of Kirkland Road after witnesses reported seeing Niebuhr acting suspiciously and erratically:
"Citizens called in that for the last several days, a white male in a red truck ... had been coming out to the property and sitting for hours in his truck, driving back and forth, and was removing stakes along the property line."
On June 24, officials said Niebuhr went to the Palm Bay Police Department and told officers "that the government is watching and tracking him."
Investigators said after that, they received calls Neibuhr went over to city hall then to the police department, where he was seen circling the parking lot numerous times.
Detectives also said last August, he armed himself during an eviction process, but he told police the firearm was unloaded.
His criminal history includes:
- Third-degree driving while impaired
- Open bottle of alcohol
- DUI
- Obstructing the legal process/arrest
- Disorderly conduct
Who Are Sovereign Citizens?
Much of what sovereigns do is intended to rescind or denounce that federal citizenship and reclaim their common law sovereign citizen status with all its rights, according to the UNC School of Government.
Anti-government, they don't believe in any federal laws, and that the courts have zero jurisdiction over anyone. They are also considered as domestic terrorists by the federal government and the FBI. Can you also believe they don't believe in paying taxes?
A typical Sovereign Citizen usually displays fictitious tags on their vehicles, and when stopped by police, the sovereign almost always make bizarre claims that they are "traveling and not driving", amongst other weird, bizarre and made-up falsehoods by using "internet-based law' as their rationale and reasoning. Almost all interactions with law enforcement end up in some type of altercation.
"They are annoying", says Sgt. B, who is The Blake Moia Show Law Enforcement Analyst. "They never comply."
The Events That Lead up to the Shooting at the Airport
Chief Renee Purden said the man was in a red pickup truck with his dog and told the employees he wanted to get on a plane. But they said no. The man was at the outside perimeter fence at a secure gate. The employees then called police.
Investigators say 2 officers arrived and that's when the man pointed his gun at the officers, who shot back, striking Neibuhr. All this happening behind the new Hyatt Place Hotel on Harry Sutton Road.
"They approached the vehicle; the subject was in the vehicle — he had a weapon — shots were fired." ~ Melbourne Airport Police Chief Renee Purden.
"I will say the airport is secure. Flights are not delayed. The airport is open for operation, as well as the Hyatt Place behind me," the Airport's Police Chief told reporters.
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