Republic Of Texas (group)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Republic of Texas (and also known as ''Provisional Government of the Republic of Texas'') is a general term for several organizations, some of which have been called
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
groups, that claim the annexation of Texas by the United States was illegal and that Texas remains an independent nation to this day but is under occupation. The issue of the
legal status of Texas The legal status of Texas is the standing of Texas as a political entity. While Texas has been part of various political entities throughout its history, including 10 years during 1836–1846 as the independent Republic of Texas, the current lega ...
led the group to claim to have reinstated a provisional government on December 13, 1995. Activists within the movement claim over 40,000 active supporters, and public opinion polls have shown significant support for the secession of Texas or other states. A September 2014 Reuters/Ipsos poll found over 34% of people in southwestern states favored their own state seceding from the United States. So far, however, supporters have not managed to turn these public sentiments into concrete moves toward an independent Texas.


History

The movement for independence was started by Richard Lance "Rick" McLaren (born ). McLaren claimed that, in 1861, Texans voted four-to-one to leave the Union. That most Union loyalists were prevented from voting by violence, threats, and terrorism, he ignored. McLaren still concluded that Texas still met the qualifications, under
international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
, of a captive nation of war since the end of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
in 1865, a claim not supported by scholars. The movement split into three factions in 1996, one led by McLaren, one by David Johnson and Jesse Enloe, and the third by Archie Lowe and Daniel Miller. In 1997, McLaren and his followers kidnapped Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe, held them hostage at the Davis Mountain Resort, and demanded the release of a movement member in exchange for the release of the Rowes. McLaren's wife, Evelyn, convinced him to surrender peacefully after a week-long standoff with police and Texas Rangers. McLaren and four other Republic of Texas members were sent to prison. Two other members of the group, Richard F. Keyes III and Mike Matson managed to slip away. Matson was shot dead by Texas Rangers two days later, while Keyes surrendered to the authorities on September 19. In June 1998, Keyes was convicted of burglary with intent to commit aggravated assault and sentenced to 90 years in prison. This effectively destroyed the McLaren faction, and the Johnson-Enloe faction was discredited after two of its members, Jack Abbot Grebe Jr. and Johnnie Wise, were convicted in 1998 of threatening to assassinate several government officials, including
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. The two men were each sentenced to 24 years in prison. In a case involving Richard McLaren and his wife Evelyn as plaintiffs, a United States District Court in the District of Columbia ruled on April 30, 1998: "Despite plaintiffs' argument ..... 1845, Texas became the 28th state of the United States of America. The Republic of Texas no longer exists." In 2003, what remained of the organized movement consolidated into one dominant group recognizing an "interim" government (which replaced the "provisional" government), headed by Daniel Miller. This interim government claimed authority from the original proclamations of 1995 and set up a headquarters in the town of
Overton, Texas Overton is a city in Rusk County, Texas, Rusk and Smith County, Texas, Smith counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Overton lies in two counties as well as two metropolitan areas. The Rusk County portion of the city is part of the Longview, Tex ...
. The movement split again over legal arguments, resulting in the current state of affairs. Most of the original personalities of the movement have disappeared from public view. The organization's finances have come from donations and the sale of some items such as a Republic of Texas
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...
. The Republic of Texas headquarters in Overton burned down on August 31, 2005; one person was moderately injured. In January 2004, a man in jail in
Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...
claimed that the state of
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
had no jurisdiction to
extradite In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
him to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
on a
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...
warrant, on the grounds that he was a citizen of the Republic of Texas. He said that the sliver of land which contains Aspen was a part of the original Republic of Texas and, as such, he was not a citizen of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. His claim was rejected by the courts. In 2010 the group was referenced in U.S. Army War College paper entitled "War: Will, Action and Resources", the paper expanded the definition of war to include non-state actors. In February 2015, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI), the Texas Attorney General's office, Brazos County deputies and police from the city of
Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city in and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of C ...
conducted a raid on a meeting of about sixty followers of a Republic of Texas group. No arrests were made, but the officers seized computers, phones and other items. The raid was conducted in connection with an allegation that a member of the group, claiming to be "chief justice of the international Common Law Court for the Republic of Texas", had issued phony writs of "''quo warranto''" and "''mandamus''" and a phony "subpoena", purporting to order both an attorney and a Texas state court judge to appear at "hearings" apparently to be conducted by the group at Bryan, Texas. In 2011, the vice president of the group sent a letter to the governor of Oklahoma, asserting that the governor faced indictment because Oklahoma's counties were "trespassing inside the geographical boundaries" of the Republic of Texas. On April 27, 2015, McLaren, while an inmate at the Texas Clements Unit in Amarillo, Texas, served "Legal Notice of Commencement of Special Inter-Actions" against Chief Justice Richard Barajas, Senior Status, of El Paso, Texas asserting "Declaration at Law Executing Rights Law on or over the Texian Territory".


Media

The 2013 independent film ''The Republic of Rick'' is a fictional story based on the history of Rick McLaren and the Republic of Texas. It was an official 2014
Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...
selection.


See also

*
Legal status of Texas The legal status of Texas is the standing of Texas as a political entity. While Texas has been part of various political entities throughout its history, including 10 years during 1836–1846 as the independent Republic of Texas, the current lega ...
*
Texas secession movements Texas secession movements, also known as the Texas Independence movement or Texit, refers to both the secession of Texas during the American Civil War as well as activities of modern organizations supporting such efforts to secede from the Unit ...
*
Alaskan Independence Party The Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party in the United States that advocates for an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also supports gun r ...
*
Hawaiian sovereignty movement The Hawaiian sovereignty movement () is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii out of a desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance. Some group ...
* Second Vermont Republic *
California National Party The California National Party (CNP; ) is a progressive and secessionist political party in the United States. CNP operates within California and supports Californian nationalism. CNP formed in 2015. CNP's name and purpose are partly inspired b ...


References


External links


Daughters of the Republic Library



Slate: The Republic of Texas
Article published in 1997.
''Still true today: 'The Republic of Texas is no more
- an article by Ralph H. Brock published in the
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
in 1997


Texas independence movement websites


Texas Nationalist Movement

Texas Secede
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republic Of Texas (Group) Anti-Federalism Politics of Texas Secessionist organizations in the United States Texas secession movements Right-wing militia organizations in the United States