A “sovereign citizen,” who claimed to have renounced his U.S. citizenship, allegedly threatened an employee at a Walmart and refused to leave, Fort Pierce police said.
Eddie Rodriguez, 34, was arrested on a trespassing charge June 4 after refusing to leave the property when asked, according to an arrest affidavit. He was transported to St. Lucie County Jail.
Fort Pierce police officers arrived 9:14 p.m. at Walmart.
Rodriguez caused a disturbance after believing he was being followed by a Walmart loss prevention employee, according to the affidavit.
The employee, who was unidentified in the affidavit, told police he was doing his normal walks on the sales floor, the affidavit said.
The employee claimed Rodriguez, who is homeless, made threats and was armed with a weapon, although police recovered no weapon during the arrest, according to the affidavit.
The employee declined to press charges regarding the threats, the affidavit said.
Jack Randall is TCPalm’s economy and real estate reporter. You can reach him at jack.randall@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: ‘Sovereign citizen’ arrested at Florida Walmart following disturbance
Reporting by Jack Randall, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jack Randall, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
