Among the missing in this month’s deadly mudslide in Oso, Washington, was a prominent secessionist from western Washington’s ultra-conservative “Christian Patriot” and “sovereign citizen” movements.
The now-presumed-dead activist, Thom Satterlee, age 65, came to public attention in the 1990s as a proponent of splitting the rural parts of Snohomish County away to form a new jurisdiction to be called Freedom County. That push was prompted by environmental rules to protect wetlands which Snohomish County conservatives felt impinged upon property rights. (A more mainstream proposal around the same time would have created Skykomish County from most of eastern Snohomish County and part of adjacent King County (whose seat is Seattle).)
Satterlee and an associate, John Stokes, went so far as filing a complaint with the United Nations in 1997 against the State of Washington for its refusal to create Freedom County. (The U.N. declined to intervene.) (Stokes later attracted controversy as host of a Kalispell, Montana, pro-militia radio talk show called The Edge, where he spun theories such as one that the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was not a right-wing militiaman but was in fact an agent provocateur from the Sierra Club. Stokes, who has referred to environmentalists as “green Nazis … pure, unadulterated satanic evil … vile vomit,” also made headlines by marking Earth Day with the burning of a giant green swastika.)
An Earth Day publicity stunt by pro–Freedom County activist and hate-radio shock jock John Stokes |
One proposed flag for Freedom County, Washington |
The current flag of Snohomish County represents a row of airline passengers assuming crash positions. |
Thom and Marcy Satterlee, now presumed dead |
Thanks to William Abernathy for alerting me to this story.
[You can read more about right-wing militia activity in the Pacific Northwest and the “sovereign citizens” and “Christian identity” movements, as well as numerous separatist and new-nation movements, both famous and obscure, in my new book, a sort of encyclopedic atlas just published by Litwin Books under the title Let’s Split! A Complete Guide to Separatist Movements and Aspirant Nations, from Abkhazia to Zanzibar. The book, which contains 46 maps and 554 flags (or, more accurately, 554 flag images), is available for order now on Amazon. Meanwhile, please “like” the book (even if you haven’t read it yet) on Facebook and see this interview for more information on the book.]
oops! two more ideas> is it true that in the caribbean sea curacao, near aruba, was preparing its independance+++ i listened that new once and afterwords i didnt listened about that again...and about kurdistan> may be in the past they had coast in turkey and syria+++ when i watch the map of the syrian war i notice that some far hurdish villages are very near to the mediterranean coast!!!!!
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Well, at least he maintained his ideological purity to the end by not being rescued or given aid and assistance by the state or federal governments. It takes a brave man to die for what he believes in. Its easy to imagine his last moments when he told his relatives that they would not try to escape the mud flow, because that would be going along with UN Agenda 21. He certainly deserves a posthumous award, perhaps the Freedom County "Sovereign Citizen of the Year" medal and complimentary certificate good for one happy meal.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the swamp is OK, who gives a shit, eh?
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