The self-identified ambassador for a group trying to claim a swath of a public land in southwestern Colorado this week filed a rambling, partially handwritten response to a federal lawsuit trying to block its efforts — a 50-page document that cites legal maxims, centuries-old treaties and the Geneva Bible of 1560.
Patrick Leroy Pipkin, a survivor of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cult and owner of 180 acres adjacent to the San Juan National Forest, claims he and other members of the Free Land Holder Committee have legal rights to U.S. Forest Service land and will not waive any rights to that property. The committee’s members are mostly anonymous and the group’s origins are unknown.
Pipkin opens the legal brief, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver on Tuesday, by describing himself as “the spiritually discerned man using the graciously-gifted name :patrick:-Leroy:Pipkin.”
On behalf of the Free Land Holders, Pipkin claims rights not only to the publicly owned land, but all surface water, irrigation ditches, cattle grazing areas, fences and roads within the San Juan National Forest just outside the town of Mancos, northwest of Durango.
“This claim is perfected under the maxims, doctrines and principles of Exclusive Equity, whereby all the free land holders are entitled to assert these rights according to the laws of justice, as governed by the Creator’s Usufruct Law and the Exclusively equitable maxims, doctrines of the well-settled land law,” the document reads in neat, handwritten script.
The U.S. government sued Pipkin, Brian Hammon and other unnamed Free Land Holders in November after they and other unidentified people fenced off 1,460 acres of the national forest. The acreage is part of an area known as Chicken Creek and is popular with hikers, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers. It’s also the site of an annual high school cross-country meet, which was relocated this fall after the fence was built.
The federal lawsuit seeks a court order barring any further obstruction of the U.S. Forest Service property or intimidation of people who use it “to ensure continuing free and lawful access to public land,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The fence angered local ranchers and outdoor enthusiasts, who gathered in the forest in late October to tear down the Free Land Holders’ fence posts and barbed wire. They did so despite a warning from Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin to allow federal authorities to handle the situation.
Pipkin’s actions concern the ranchers and other nearby residents because it reminds them of other standoffs between extremist groups and federal authorities. Pipkin has said his group is peaceful.
In December, Pipkin posted notices around Mancos to inform the community that he planned to claim an even larger piece of national forest land if no one disproved his rightful ownership by Dec. 15. Since then, the community has held a celebration of public lands in the Chicken Creek area with more than 200 people gathering for music and speeches. So far, the Free Land Holders have not attempted to erect another fence.
In making his argument for property rights, Pipkin weaves a long narrative that cites multiple historical documents and land deeds, dating back to the founding of America.
The Free Land Holders’ argument essentially comes down to whether or not the word “the” is capitalized when preceding “United States” on various historic documents. Pipkin believes the Founding Fathers established the country as “The United States of America” when they wrote the Articles of Confederation in 1777, which created a republic that he now belongs to.
But somewhere along the way, Pipkin told The Denver Post in October, the king of England tricked the new country into signing documents as “the United States of America” — lowercase T — creating a separate entity from the original republic.
Pipkin does not recognize the authority of the U.S. Forest Service or the Montezuma County sheriff because he claims he doesn’t live in the same United States. That viewpoint is reiterated in his response to the federal lawsuit.
In November, a tax lien on Pipkin’s 180 acres in Montezuma County was sold at auction because he did not pay 2024 property taxes on the land. Pipkin bought the land in 2020 with two other men who also are survivors of the fundamentalist Mormon cult led by Warren Jeffs. The name on the title changed in 2023 to P.J. Sunset P.L.P. trust, and it is unknown whether the two other men are still involved with Pipkin, who lives on the ranch with his family.
While Pipkin insists he is not a sovereign citizen, experts who monitor extremist groups have said his language and actions are similar to others who do not recognize the authority of the U.S. government. His signature with colons and hyphens separating his first, middle and last names is one example.
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