Members (Citizens?) of the Republic of Texas believe that our state never legally joined the union. They operate their own government, complete with executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Though there have been some violent incidents in the organization’s past, in recent years their activities have largely been limited to sending letters to government officials, including those of foreign entities like Oklahoma.
Based on this New York Times report, it sounds like we should take the group about as seriously as we do representatives of Starfleet. Yet some law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, appear to take them quite seriously, considering they raided the Republic’s Valentine’s Day meeting — at which the women in attendance had been given roses:
The Republic had ordered the judge in Kerrville to appear at the V.F.W. hall for a “court hearing” involving his role in the pending foreclosure of a member’s home. Two letters to the judge ordered him to present “proof of his authority for executing his claimed powers involving a foreign entity” and warned him that copies might be provided to the United Nations. The lawyer was sent a “subpoena.”
After the raid, the V.F.W. hall prohibited the group from meeting there again, so the Republic’s next congressional session will be held at Ace Buffet and Grill in Waco.
“They came in looking like John Dillinger and the gang were hiding out,” said Dave Kroupa, the Katy chiropractor who signed the letters to the judge as chief justice of the Republic’s international common law court. “The ladies were armed with roses. The most confusing thing I ever witnessed was this silly raid in 59 years of my life.”
