Patrick Pipkin and Bryan Hammon formally challenged a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado brought forth against them and other Free Land Holders who fenced off Forest Service land north of Mancos in November.
Pipkin and Hammon specifically challenged federal jurisdiction over the land, and sealed their documents with a Free Land Holder Committee stamp.
They filed the challenge on Feb. 25, which was their deadline to file a formal answer to the complaint, according to the court docket.
“The land in question does not belong to UNITED STATES, United States, United States of America, or UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The land was deeded to ‘The United States of America’,” Hammon’s challenge reads.
“The United States of America,” with a capital “T,” is the only entity with proof of ownership. The other versions “have never provided proof of any kind of title,” it reads.
Furthermore, the U.S. Forest Service “is only a management agency of the public lands, they have never provided proof of any kind of title,” and they never blocked off the land.
“All trails and road-ways have always been open,” it reads.
The challenge concludes with quoting four past court cases.
“Once jurisdiction is challenged, the court cannot proceed when it clearly appears that the court lacks jurisdiction, the court has no authority to reach merits, but, rather, should dismiss the action,” according to Melo v. U.S., a case from 1974 it quoted.
Pipkin’s challenge was 11 pages, where Hammon’s was two.
His submission includes the same sentiments as Hammon’s, and goes a step further.
Pipkin quotes the Bible.
Genesis 13:15, he said, “establishes the divine promise of land as an eternal inheritance.”
He pulls from Exodus, Joshua, the Chronicles, Isaiah and Jeremiah, too, citing principles like “the importance of obedience to the Laws of Nature,” the “divine covenant of land” and “the divine granting of land as an eternal inheritance promise.”
In explaining the relevance of the verses, Pipkin often circles back to the “Laws of Nature” and “divine principles of land inheritance,” which means the land is promised to the righteous and its descendants forever.
On Page 6, he delves into “Exclusive Equity Maxims,” and concludes by saying, “In combining Scripture Verses, Exclusive Equity Maxims, and Exclusive Equity Principles, the divine covenant of land inheritance is firmly supported.”
Pipkin signed his formal challenge :patrick: and Hammon signed his Bryan-Hugh:Hammon.
Pipkin and Hammon’s formal challenges were referred to Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter by Judge Daniel D,. Domenico on March 3, and they were officially recorded into court proceedings on March 5.
