Charges against Glenn Agnew dropped before bizarre outburst in court

A “sovereign citizen” cited an obscure piece of maritime law in an outburst in Geelong court moments after charges against him were dropped.

Glenn Agnew appeared in the Geelong Magistrates' Court, where all charges against him were dropped.

A self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” cited a 13th century legal document linked to piracy on the high seas in a Geelong courtroom, despite all the charges against him being withdrawn.

Glenn Agnew, of Teesdale, was facing three charges – trespassing, assaulting an emergency worker, and possessing a controlled weapon – stemming from an alleged incident in the Geelong CBD in February.

Mr Agnew appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday with a group of about a dozen supporters.

The matter was set to go to a contested hearing, however, police prosecutor Senior Constable Andrew Clapham made an application to withdraw all charges.

No reason was given for the withdrawal.

After striking out the charges, magistrate Kimberly Swadesir told Mr Agnew he was free to go. But Mr Agnew had more to say.

He asked Ms Swadesir if the court file contained several “affidavits” and other documents he’d provided.

He said the previous magistrate to hear the matter had received a letter saying he “must produce” documents including an oath of office, commission of office, public bond and a “letter of marque”.

Historically, a letter of marque was a government licence authorising privately owned vessels to act as privateers and capture enemy merchant ships.

The document first came to prevalence in the late 1200s. Privateering, basically piracy with paperwork, was effectively abolished at the Paris Declaration of 1856, which renounced the practice.

But in 2024, Mr Agnew asked if Ms Swadesir was familiar with the documents, to which she replied she was not, and said she was not going to look at them.

“I don’t need to consider anything,” Ms Swadesir said, noting there was no longer a matter before the court with the charges struck out.

“We’re not dealing with the law here,” Mr Agnew said, placing a document on the bench.

He suggested magistrate Swadesir “familiarise” herself with the documents, before labelling the court a “belligerent occupation”.

Constable Clapham asked if Ms Swadesir wanted Mr Agnew removed from the court,

Applause could be heard outside the court following the departure of Mr Agnew and his supporters.

Originally published as Charges against Glenn Agnew dropped before bizarre outburst in court