Dispatches from the Creation Wars

The Pensacola News Journal has been following the arrest of Kent Hovind closely. A trial date has been set for September 5th and Hovind has pled innocent to the charges (well, kind of). And I can’t wait to see how the court treats some of the profoundly silly claims of immunity that Hovind is making. And get this: he has a public defender, who must be rolling their eyes at some of the things Hovind wants him to argue:

Hovind’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Kafahni Nkrumah, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Miles Davis at a hearing Monday that his client did not want to enter a plea because he does not believe the United States, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office “have jurisdiction in this matter.”

When pressed by Davis to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty, Hovind said he wished to enter a plea of “subornation of false muster.”

“Subornation,” according to Webster’s Dictionary, means instigating another to do something illegal. “Muster” is an assembly, often for inspection or roll call.

When pressed by Davis, Hovind said he was entering a not guilty plea “under duress.”

Why does he think the government has no jurisdiction has no jurisdiction in this matter? You’re gonna love this:

When asked where he lived, Kent Hovind replied, “I live in the church of Jesus Christ, which is located all over the world. I have no residence.”

This guy and his looney legal theories are going to go down in flames inside a court of law. This is going to be fun to watch.

Comments

#1 Aaron M
July 19, 2006

Interestingly, a google search for “subornation of false muster” turns up one document, from the Washington appellate court:

http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/index.cfm?fa=opinions.opindisp&docid=333767MAJ

This case, too, involves a defendant who claims to be a “citizen of heaven”, bound by God’s laws and not the state’s, and whose arguments contained “a mixture of legal arguments and biblical citations.” Bad news for Kent — it didn’t work.
#2 Dave S.
July 19, 2006

When asked where he lived, Kent Hovind replied, “I live in the church of Jesus Christ, which is located all over the world. I have no residence.”

It’d be fun to waltz into his house, plop down on the couch with a big bag of Cheetos, and watch some television. If he complains you say, “Hey man, this house doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to Jesus, and Jesus said I could watch the Sell This House marathon here. Now shut up and get me a beer.”
#3 kehrsam
July 19, 2006

I am curious how Mr. Hovind reconciles his position with the language of Romans 13 to submit to the civil authorities. Paul is much clearer on this matter than he is when it comes to demonizing, say, homosexuality.

The trial should make short work of the tax protest arguments. The conspiracy charge (essentially a money-laundering charge) should be more interesting.
#4 Joe de Lange
July 19, 2006

Yes, he claims to own no property yet he posted a “special notice to local, state and federal government agents, employees and inspectors” saying they could not come on his property without “prior written consent.”
#5 Ed Brayton
July 19, 2006

Joe-

Perhaps the sign was made by Jesus? After all, it is His property.
#6 Kenneth Fair
July 19, 2006

I still laugh when I think what Pensacola County Commission Chairman Mike Whitehead had to say about Hovind’s Dino Adventure Land: “Scripture also says ‘Render unto Caesar what Caesar demands.’ And right now, Caesar demands a building permit.”
#7 Alex
July 19, 2006

I feel sorry for the poor court-appointed public defender who has to deal with this crap. For his sake, I hope that Hovind decides to defend himself in court.
#8 Inoculated Mind
July 19, 2006

I love how he said that the guns belonged to the church. I can just see the two-gun slinger savior.