A Stockton man was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced Friday.
In October 2024, Robert Jordan, 52, was pulled over in the Infiniti SUV he was driving that had no license plates. Instead of plates, Jordan had pasted a sign that read “PRIVATE.”
During the stop, Jordan told officers that he had a pistol in the vehicle’s center console. As a felon convicted of attempted murder, he is prohibited from having any guns. Police located the loaded Smith & Wesson revolver and Jordan was arrested.
Jordan claimed to be a “sovereign citizen,” which is a person involved in a loose, anti-government movement that does not recognize certain laws and believes most law enforcement, courts and other governmental bodies are illegitimate.
After he was charged in a San Joaquin Superior Court, Jordan began harassing government employees in an attempt to intimidate them into dropping his case, according to prosecutors. This escalated into threats to file lawsuits and liens against members of the court and prosecutors. Jordan filed more than $10 million in liens against the prosecutor, judge and court staff.
Jordan was later indicted in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He fired his court-appointed defense lawyer and chose to represent himself, something sovereign citizens often do.
He was advised about filing frivolous liens against federal employees, but he refused to withdraw any he filed against state officials and “made further … filings naming the federal court and federal prosecutors as potential targets of future liens, and attempted to initiate a seven-figure lawsuit against the prosecution team,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Jordan is looking at up to 15 years in federal prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
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