'Sovereign citizen' Christopher Noone finds no solace in court

The Salem News, Massachusetts/October 1, 2014

By Dave Rogers

Newburyport -- Within hours after being ordered to pay a $500 fine for driving without a license, a Monson man who claims he isn’t a person and, thus, does not consent to state laws was arrested by state police after driving away from the Newburyport District Courthouse.

Christopher Noone, 21, had just paid the fine, plus an additional $407 in court costs, before leaving the courthouse and getting behind the wheel. He was picked up by state police on Route 1 in Salisbury and charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Noone is expected to be arraigned today in the same courthouse. Last year, Noone was issued a summons for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle following a traffic stop by Hamilton police.

During his arraignment last July in Ipswich District Court, Noone rejected an Essex County prosecutor’s offer to decriminalize the violation and fine him only $50. Noone demanded a trial. Had he been convicted, he could have been fined up to $1,000.

According to Hamilton police, last year Noone had left a pickup truck with a horse trailer attached running along the side of Woodbury Street. After spotting Noone walking toward the vehicle, the officer asked to see a driver’s license or another form of identification. He told the officer he didn’t have his license with him but admitted to driving the truck.

A check of Noone’s name and date of birth, provided by Noone, showed that there was no license status for him and that he had been charged with unlicensed operation in Monson.

At his bench trial before Judge Peter Doyle yesterday morning, which drew a small crowd as the odd proceedings progressed, Noone argued that because he wasn’t a person as defined by the commonwealth of Massachusetts, he wasn’t bound by its laws. He also questioned whether the Hamilton police officer, Sgt. Steve Trepanier, actually saw him behind the wheel.

When Trepanier, who was called as a witness by the prosecution, said he didn’t see him operating a motor vehicle, Noone asked then why he was issued a summons for driving without a license.

“Because you told me,” Trepanier said.

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