LEBANON – In recent weeks, police in two Upper Valley communities have arrested the same man — who they characterized as a “sovereign citizen” — after traffic stops for invalid license plates escalated into physical altercations.
In New Hampshire, Kenneth Forcier, 64, is facing multiple violations and charges including felony drug possession, transporting drugs in a motor vehicle, misuse of plates, resisting arrest, disobeying an officer, driving after suspension, operating without a valid driver’s license and operating an unregistered vehicle.
In connection with a Hartford arrest in May, Forcier is facing felony and misdemeanor charges of impeding an officer and resisting arrest. Court records list him as living in Quechee.
On Sunday at around 5:30 p.m., Lebanon Police Corporal Christopher Day conducted a traffic stop on a pickup truck displaying an illegitimate government-issued registration plate on Plainfield Road near Koto Japanese Steakhouse, according to the affidavit in support of the charges.
The rear plate of the pickup read “Private Automobile,” below stating “EXEMPT,” and below that, “not for hire.”
“Based on Cpl. Day’s training and experience, he knows these plates are often used by sovereign citizens,” the affidavit stated. “Day knows sovereign citizens are very anti-government who believe they are immune from federal, state and local laws.”
As Day approached the pickup, Forcier exited from the driver’s side, according to the affidavit.
When Day informed Forcier that the plate “does not come back to anything and asked if he knew that, Forcier replied, ‘ya I do,’ ” according to the affidavit.
Asked by Day if he had a license, Forcier replied, “No, I don’t have a license,” according to the affidavit. Informed that he needed a license to legally drive, Forcier responded, “No, I don’t.”
Day informed Forcier he was being detained “due to Cpl. Day’s training and experience, including his knowledge about how unpredictable and hazardous sovereign citizens can be and … (Forcier) refusing to provide all required documentation in order to operate a motor vehicle on a public way in the state of New Hampshire,” according to the affidavit.
When Day attempted to grab Forcier’s right arm to place him in handcuffs, Forcier allegedly flailed his arms and elevated his voice and Day “began to notice pre-attack indicators,” according to the affidavit.
Day extended his arm and pressed his hand against Forcier’s chest, and Forcier started accusing Day of assault, according to the affidavit. Day continued to explain that he was detaining Forcier, but he refused to comply.
“Cpl. Day unholstered his department issued taser-10,” the affidavit stated, and Forcier ignored demands to get on the ground.
Day deployed five probes from his stun gun, the last of which struck Forcier in the leg and caused him to scream out in discomfort and his body to lock up, “indicating a good connection,” according to the affidavit. Forcier then complied with Day’s commands and was handcuffed.
A dispatcher informed Day that Forcier’s license was suspended in Oregon, according to the affidavit.
Day observed “a female and a young boy inside the vehicle,” according to the affidavit. The woman, who had no active warrants, told police that Forcier was a friend of a friend. She said she was staying at a motel in Lebanon and Forcier offered to bring her out to dinner.
A subsequent search by police of the vehicle Forcier was driving turned up a container holding a substance identified as methamphetamine.
About one month earlier, on May 29, Hartford police also arrested Forcier following a separate traffic stop in which he allegedly resisted arrest, Lieutenant William Furnari of Hartford police said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
“(Forcier) was displaying what we define as ‘sovereign citizen’ behavior,” Furnari said.
He was pulled over for driving with the same invalid plate that triggered the Lebanon stop, and just as in Lebanon, he disobeyed orders from police, declaring “the laws don’t apply to him because he was not driving, he was traveling,” Funari said.
“We had to pull him out of the vehicle,” he said.
Forcier was processed and released that day, Furnari said. He was cited to appear in Windsor Superior Court for an arraignment on July 7 on charges of impeding an officer and resisting arrest. He was also handed violations for driving without a license and insurance.
For felony impeding an officer, he faces a potential penalty of up to three years in prison.
For the most serious of his New Hampshire charges, felony drug possession, he faces a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.
Forcier refused to be represented by an attorney, according to hearing notes from his arraignment in Lebanon District Court on Tuesday. The court entered no pleas to all charges on his behalf.
Lebanon District Judge Michael Mace ordered Forcier held without bail in Grafton County jail. He is scheduled for a probable cause hearing on July 8 at 10:30 a.m.
