Sovereign citizens: extremist ideologies in a pandemic

Extremist ideologies flourish in situations where there is mounting distrust between a government and its population. This has been compounded in the current pandemic by disinformation and greater access and vulnerability to fringe messaging. The pandemic has seen an increase in reported incidents involving Sovereign Citizens, who have a complex anti-government ideology. This presentation will highlight possible reasons for the increased use of Sovereign strategies in these unsettled times. It will provide an historical overview of the Sovereign Citizen Movement and its various idiosyncrasies. The webinar will consider the risks posed by Sovereign Citizens in Australia and the importance of recognising their language and behaviour. The presentation will emphasise the relevance of these individuals to mental health professionals, lawyers and police, and consider management approaches.

About the Presenter:

Until her retirement from clinical work in December 2020 Michele Pathé was the Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Swinburne University of Technology and a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (‘Forensicare’). She was the Clinical Lead at the Victorian Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (VFTAC), a joint police-mental health unit in the Counter Terrorism Command of Victoria Police. She is currently Adjunct Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Swinburne and provides consultation and training to police, health and intelligence agencies in Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Pathé has a longstanding clinical and research interest in stalking, pathological grievances and lone actor extremism. She has authored three books and over 100 journal articles and book chapters on these subjects. She is a co-author of the validated stalking risk assessment tool, the Stalking Risk Profile. She was an inaugural member of ANZAPPL and has received several national and international awards for her work, including in 2018 the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

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