#478: Robert Beale

We’ve mentioned Robert Beale before. He’s the father of Theodore Beale, better known as Vox Day, and a thorough crank in his own way. Once a successful business man (and Minnesota campaign manager for Pat Robertson’s Presidential campaign and director of WorldNetDaily), he ended up in a tax dispute, which he solved by reading tax protestor literature and attending seminars run by Irwin Schiff. That went the way it had to go for someone with a background in extremist paranoia and denialism like Beale’s, of course. Beale is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence (Schiff is serving his own 13 year sentence, by the way).

Beale’s behavior with respect to the trial was exactly what you’d expect from these people. He decided to represent himself, went into hiding, and directed his fans and supporters to “take out” the judge (according to Beale “God wants me to destroy the judge. That judge is evil. He wants me to get rid of her”). Beale then led/participated in an extra-judicial “Common Law Court” (titled “a superior court for the People, original jurisdiction under Almighty Yahweh exclusive jurisdiction in and for confederation-government United States of America”) which convened a “grand jury”, issued writs, subpoenas, summonses and arrest warrants for the judge and various law enforcement officials. One of his fans, Frederick Bond, presented a subpoena at the local Sheriff's Office listing the judge’s home address, demanding that she appear for a hearing before the “court.” In the real court, as opposed to his own circle of clowns, Beale claimed that he answered only to “the Lord Jesus Christ” and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court, which is generally not considered a clever defense strategy (he also tried the if you live outside the District of Columbia and U.S. Islands, you are a non-resident alien, according to the Constitution, which is not really a winning strategy either). Full story here. (Some of his friends had to take some time in jail as well for obstructing justice).

Diagnosis: Not without influence, though his crankery is more overt (but not less intelligent) than his son’s.