Prosecutors have dropped their case against a Western Australian “sovereign citizen” accused of encouraging his social media followers to arrest Premier Mark McGowan.
Key points:
- The prosecution case against “sovereign citizen” Wayne Kenneth Glew has been dropped
- He was accused of encouraging his supporters to arrest WA Premier Mark McGowan
- Prosecutors said there was no public interest in proceeding with the matter
Wayne Kenneth Glew was charged with inciting another person to commit an indictable offence, namely deprivation of liberty.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions discontinued the charge.
In a statement, the DPP said an assessment of the case found it “was not in the public interest to proceed with the prosecution”.
Police had alleged Mr Glew posted a series of videos on social media directing people to arrest government ministers and public officials, including Mr McGowan.
State Security Investigation Group officers from Perth travelled to Geraldton to arrest the 74-year-old at his Glenfield home in March last year.
More than 80 people donated $4,700 to an online fundraiser supporting Mr Glew after his arrest.
He applied to have the matter heard by Australia’s High Court, saying it was the “only lawful court established by the Constitution”.
In an affidavit to the court, Mr Glew described himself as a “sovereign person, a flesh and blood man” and raised issues related to “land title, fraud, murder, slavery, treason, treachery and acts of war”.
Justice James Edelman said Mr Glew’s submissions were “legal nonsense” and his application to have his matter transferred from the Magistrates Court in Geraldton was “manifestly groundless”.
During a number of court appearances in Geraldton, Mr Glew claimed the warrant for his arrest was “fraudulent”.
A group of about 40 of his supporters gathered outside the Geraldton Courthouse after his first hearing.
Mr Glew refused to plead to his charges and a plea of not guilty was entered by the court, with the matter due to be listed for trial before prosecutors dropped the case.