Radicalisation expert concerned Western Australia sovereign citizen gun crackdown could be ‘counterproductive’

A radicalisation expert has warned a crackdown on gun-owning “sovereign citizens” in Western Australia risks further entrenching extremist views in an already disenfranchised group.

A sovereign citizen is someone who wrongly believes they are not subject to Australian federal, state or local law, because they think the laws are incorrect and therefore invalid.

WA Police seized more than 100 guns on the weekend in an operation authorities say was sparked by the shooting of two police officers in Victoria in August, allegedly by so-called sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman.

Despite weeks of intensive searching, Mr Freeman has still not been found.

Read more: ABC News (AUS)