{"id":43042,"date":"2024-03-18T14:20:46","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T18:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=43042"},"modified":"2024-03-18T14:20:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T18:20:51","slug":"sovereign-citizen-arrested-for-fake-diplomatic-plates-claims-diplomatic-immunity-and-gets-stopped-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2024\/03\/18\/sovereign-citizen-arrested-for-fake-diplomatic-plates-claims-diplomatic-immunity-and-gets-stopped-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Sovereign Citizen Arrested For Fake Diplomatic Plates Claims Diplomatic Immunity and Gets Stopped Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A&nbsp;sovereign citizen&nbsp;and mildly-famous singer from&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;has been arrested and detained by police on multiple occasions for using&nbsp;fake&nbsp;diplomatic plates on more than one car. The 32-year-old woman, Cecilia Mercado, goes by the name \u201cSessi\u201d as a singer, and has a modest fanbase on social media. Video of her being forcibly dragged out of an Audi Q5 went viral after Mercado\u2019s boyfriend posted the footage online, as&nbsp;WSVN&nbsp;reports.<\/p>\n\n\n        \n        <div class=\"embedpress-gutenberg-wrapper source-provider-Youtube aligncenter ep-clear   ep-content-protection-disabled inline\" id=\"559e9944-e122-4f80-b0b1-82e83c4a2d44\" data-embed-type=\"Youtube \">\n            <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper \">\n                <div id=\"ep-gutenberg-content-b7bf651626ebba606ec24b6636a00db6\" class=\"ep-gutenberg-content\">\n                    <div >\n                        <div class=\"ep-embed-content-wraper preset-default insta-grid ep-google-photos-carousel\"\n                            style=\"max-width:600px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\"                                                                                                                >\n\n                            <div class=\"ose-youtube ose-uid-f4c0d7611cb7135fffbd40ea4c67ba6d ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:340px; max-height:340px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" title=\"Video shows singer being dragged out of car during traffic stop in Sunny Isles Beach\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_jRbbRcmEe0?feature=oembed&#038;color=red&#038;rel=1&#038;controls=2&#038;start=true&#038;end=true&#038;fs=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Sovereign Citizen Arrested For Fake Diplomatic Plates Claims Diplomatic Immunity and Gets Stopped Again\"><\/iframe><\/div>                        <\/div>\n\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    \n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The video footage was recorded by Mercado\u2019s boyfriend, Scott Huss, who was a passenger at the time of the initial traffic stop. Sunny Isle Police pulled over Mercado\u2019s Audi for ignoring a \u201cRight Turn Only\u201d sign at an intersection, according to\u00a0WSVN. The exchange between Mercado, Huss and the police escalated after Mercado handed officers a passport instead of\u00a0a driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What ensued was a flurry of yelling and physical altercation initiated by police, which they claim was legal due to Mercado\u2019s noncompliance, as the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=490nDeDm1dM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">viral video<\/a>&nbsp;reshared by&nbsp;WPLG&nbsp;shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sunny Isle Police Department claims that Mercado did not comply because a passport is not a driver\u2019s license. Throughout the exchange, Huss can be heard yelling that police \u201chave no jurisdiction over\u201d Mercado, and arguing that \u201cshe is not a United States citizen.\u201d Mercado later went on to say she is a non-resident alien, while police claim she eventually surrendered a driver\u2019s license issued by the state of Florida. It\u2019s worth noting that U.S. citizenship is not a requirement for a state-issued driver\u2019s license, and that eligibility varies state by state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It seems, however, Mercado is a Bronx native and former resident of New York who moved to South Florida to pursue her musical career, as the&nbsp;Bronx Times&nbsp;reports. Mercado and Huss were apparently speaking on the basis of her being a \u201csovereign citizen,\u201d which is a popular movement in Florida, as&nbsp;WSVN&nbsp;reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she was stopped, Mercado repeatedly told officers her car was registered with the U.S. Department of State as a diplomatic vehicle. Not long after officers handcuffed Mercado, police gave her four traffic citations but nonetheless released her because they could not verify or disprove the authenticity of the license plate that claimed she was a \u201cdiplomat\u201d and \u201cambassador-at-large.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1110\" height=\"625\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/abbbcfb6cb28270c992f76839f2a50da.webp?resize=1110%2C625&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43043\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plate also read \u201cno expiration,\u201d and displayed only numbers rather than an alphanumeric code. These were reportedly tell-tale signs that the plate was fake, and the State Department quickly confirmed it was fraudulent. Police managed to return to the scene and locate the Audi to arrest Mercado, charging her with having a counterfeit registration, license plate or sticker on a motor vehicle, per&nbsp;WPLG. Shortly thereafter, Mercado was released from jail on a $2,500 bond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When sovereign citizen Mercado was released on bail following her arrest, she was seen in a Mercedes-Maybach sedan with similar bogus plates, according to&nbsp;WSVN. While riding home in the luxury car, she broadcast an Instagram video saying to fans, \u201cThis is why you have to become a non-citizen national, so you don\u2019t have to worry about paying taxes, and you get your business right&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"309\" height=\"346\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-49-12.png?resize=309%2C346&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43044\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-49-12.png?w=309&amp;ssl=1 309w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-49-12.png?resize=268%2C300&amp;ssl=1 268w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sunny Isle Police Department once again pulled over the vehicle and arrested its driver, although it wasn\u2019t Mercado. Instead, it was 22-year-old Andres Lopez-Escobar, whose connection to the Florida woman is unknown. Lopez-Escobar is now facing similar charges to Mercado, although he was also charged with driving without a valid driver\u2019s license and with resisting an officer without violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When questioned by&nbsp;WPLG, Lopez-Escobar said of the officers, \u201cthey tried to kill me,\u201d and added that they are \u201clocos.\u201d There have also been reports of handguns in both vehicles bearing the fake plates. Indeed, it seems like its locos all around in the case of South Florida\u2019s sovereign citizens versus the police.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A&nbsp;sovereign citizen&nbsp;and mildly-famous singer from&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;has been arrested and detained by police on multiple occasions for using&nbsp;fake&nbsp;diplomatic plates on more than one car. The 32-year-old woman, Cecilia Mercado, goes by the&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"0","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[7851],"class_list":["post-43042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional-and-world-news","tag-sovereign-citizen-arrested-for-fake-diplomatic-plates-claims-diplomatic-immunity-and-gets-stopped-again"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}