FLORIDA MAN

‘Sovereign Citizen’ Throws Wild Courtroom Tantrum, Attacking Judge and Bailiff

Joseph Catarineau, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen, appeared in court on Tuesday on fraud charges. Things escalated quickly from there.

A man attacked a bailiff, a judge, and at least one prosecutor when he showed up to a Harris County courtroom on fraud charges Tuesday morning, prosecutors said. Joseph Catarineau, a 58-year-old self-proclaimed sovereign citizen, was initially charged in 2018 with making false statements on his financial records. He was in court that day to discuss his attorney’s Dec. 13 request to withdraw from his case. When Judge Danny Lacayo began asking him about a court-appointed attorney, a witness told the Houston Chronicle, Catarineau became agitated and started talking back. As Lacayo ordered a bailiff to take Catarineau into custody, to be held without bond, Catarineau allegedly grabbed the court officer’s ponytail, pulled her to the ground, and began punching her.

Lacayo rushed from the bench to help, as did Jacob Salinas, a former college football lineman and prosecutor, who began fighting with Catarineau. The bailiff, a sheriff’s deputy, pulled out a Taser, but Catarineau allegedly knocked it out of her hand and returned to trading blows with the judge and the prosecutor. The deputy managed to shoot Catarineau with the stun gun, but because Lacayo and Salinas were holding him down, they were hit by the shock as well. Catarineau will likely now face three counts of assault of a public servant.