Three Texas residents accused of using fake ‘Moroccan Empire’ diplomatic status to evade arrest

Three Houston-area residents have been indicted in the United States after allegedly using fraudulent documents claiming diplomatic status from what they called the “Moroccan Empire” to evade arrest and prosecution, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing federal court records.

According to the indictment, federal authorities identified the three as members of a group called Diadematis Morocco Illorum Prius Texas, which prosecutors described as a sovereign citizen-type organization.

The group allegedly obtained fraudulent identification documents and license plates purporting to have been issued by the “Government of Morocco” and the “Moroccan Empire,” according to the court records cited by the newspaper.

Members allegedly presented themselves as the empire’s sultan, consul general, a diplomat and holders of other purported official titles.

Federal authorities allege that the scheme was used to avoid arrest and prosecution by local law enforcement agencies. Members also allegedly published material online encouraging others to join the group and claim diplomatic status to avoid arrest, according to the indictment.

One social media post cited in the case allegedly argued that diplomatic immunity was necessary for members to participate in politics and claimed that identifying as “Moors” placed them under separate “Moorish laws and jurisdiction.”

The Houston Chronicle reported that the group is part of a broader movement of Moorish sovereign citizen organizations, whose adherents hold varying beliefs about their legal status and relationship with the United States.

Some adherents trace their ideas to the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded in 1913, as well as to an 1787 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and Morocco. Sovereign citizen adherents have cited the treaty in claims that they are exempt from U.S. law.

The 1787 treaty, however, does not establish diplomatic immunity for individuals in the United States or create a separate legal jurisdiction for people who identify as Moorish.

The allegations against the three defendants remain subject to the federal judicial process. An indictment is an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.