Sheriff: Religious sect using lawsuits to harass him

Within the past month, people linked with the religious sect called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors have filed at least a dozen lawsuits against Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.

The complaints claim Sills was informed of possible child molestation at the group's headquarters in rural Putnam County in 1998 but did not act quickly enough. The group's leader, Malachi York, was convicted of molestation and other charges earlier this year and was sentenced in April to 135 years in prison.

But Sills calls the lawsuits harassment.

Sills said that, in the past, Nuwaubian litigants have asked to take his deposition in a restaurant.

"They have asked me questions like, 'Do you like popcorn?' and 'Have you ever played baseball?'" Sills said.

That kind of strategy is commonly used by members of "sovereign citizen" movements, an expert said.

"Harassing litigation is a common tactic used by people with sovereign citizen beliefs," said Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League. "I would classify the Nuwaubians as a Moorish group, which has a lot of ties to the sovereign citizen movement."

People who believe in sovereign citizenship reject government control and most laws.

Retaliation against the group's perceived enemies in the government, a desire to clog the court system or a deterrence of further action against the group could be motivation for the recent wave of lawsuits, Pitcavage said.

Putnam County lawyer Frank Ford, who has represented the county in Nuwaubian lawsuits, called the most recent lawsuits "frivolous."

Sills said it is not the first time members of the group have gone after him, but he hopes judges will put an end to the complaints.

The one plaintiff contacted by The Macon Telegraph declined to comment. Telephone numbers could not be found for most others.