SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A campground owner who has challenged the jurisdiction of law enforcement and the courts continued those arguments in her first court appearance since last fall. And, additional charges are expected to be filed against her.
Ann Retzlaff, 53, is charged with eluding an officer, recklessly endangering safety, and resisting in connection with a May 15 traffic stop.
Retzlaff’s court appearance on Oct. 5 was postponed because she said she was ill. It was rescheduled for Oct. 26, but she did not show again, so an arrest warrant was issued. After her eventual arrest on that, Retzlaff posted a $3,000 cash bond and was released from jail with instructions to appear in court Nov. 23. Once again, she did not show, so Judge William Kussel again ordered her arrest — this time with the condition she would not be able to post bond would need to appear before a judge before she could be released. The bond was forfeited to the county.
She was arrested Wednesday. On Thursday, Marathon County Judge Michael Moran presided over a hearing with Retzlaff, who appeared by via video from the Shawano County jail.
Shawano County District Attorney Greg Parker, noting the two missed court appearances, asked for a cash bond of between $50,000 and $75,000.
Retzlaff said she was appearing under duress and against her will. She objected to any bond being set, prompting several exchanges with court.
“Your honor. I am not a corporate being. I am a live soul. I am live woman. This is outside of the jurisdiction. This court or Shawano County court does not have jurisdiction on me. I am a free woman,” she said.
Retzlaff said she filed a lawsuit against Parker and two other Shawano County officials, suggesting that changes her status.
“I am no longer the defendant,” she said.
“You are the defendant in this case,” said Judge Moran.
Retzlaff owns Annie’s Campground, near Gresham. She said she stays there throughout the summer and would appear at any court hearing, even though she objects to the jurisdiction.
“What I comprehend is that I have to play by these statutes. Which, by the way, these are not my laws, it’s God’s laws that are mine,” she said.
“We’re going to play by these statutes today because I have to make a determination here and I’m not going to have court all the rest of the afternoon,” Judge Moran said.
When pressed by the judge about the conditions of bond, she said she would not be a flight risk because she has to run the campground, and doesn’t leave the area in the summer.
“I will be there in court but as far as I can tell there’s no jurisdiction that has been (established). I have asked for a demand of discovery. I want to know what jurisdiction we’re operating in and no one has provided that information to me, to include D.A. Parker. What’s the jurisdiction you have on me?” she asked.
“You’re under the jurisdiction because there’s been a complaint filed in this case,” the judge said.
Expressing doubts Retzlaff would actually show up in court, Judge Moran set a $25,000 cash bond in the Shawano County case, and a $1,000 cash bond on a related Menominee County misdemeanor case.
Retzlaff objected, saying she doesn’t have that much money, and claimed the judge can’t interfere with her running her business. She also demanded a “trial by jury” not a “jury trial,” but did not explain the difference between the two phrases.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 2.
At that point, District Attorney Parker said he plans to file an additional charge against Retzlaff on Friday based on an open warrant, but was not specific about the charge. An initial appearance on that charge will be held Friday afternoon, also before Judge Moran.
At various stages of interactions with police and courts, she has claimed to be a “sovereign citizen” who was not subject to the jurisdiction of police or the courts.
In the case the arrest warrant was issued for, police tried to pull Retzlaff over for failure to stop at a traffic light on May 15, but she did not pull over, the complaint states. Eventually, traffic stop spikes were deployed, flattening her tires, and the vehicle stopped. An officer advised her to get out of the vehicle.
“She stated she did not do anything wrong, and she was being wrongfully stopped. She stated she is a sovereign citizen and will not step out of the vehicle,” the complaint states.
A deputy tried to pry a vehicle door open when Retzlaff put the vehicle in gear to drive away. Two deputies had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by the vehicle, it states.
The vehicle was stopped a second time. A deputy “broke the driver window with his baton. The door was then opened, and Ann was taken from the vehicle and escorted to the ground. She was secured in handcuffs,” the complaint states.
Retzlaff told police she was rescuing an employee from sex traffickers, which is why she didn’t stop for police, and maintained she didn’t do anything wrong.
Retzlaff has been in trouble with the law before. Last year, she was ticketed for unlawful use of a telephone for posing as a Shawano County sheriff’s deputy. Her campground also came under fire last year for ignoring protocols to slow the spread of COVID-19.
For her November court hearing, Retzlaff sent multiple messages to the court, arguing she feared appearing in court to the COVID-19 pandemic, and asserting the court did not have jurisdiction over her. Judge Kussel rejected the arguments as improperly filed, and noting they did not cite any proper legal authority.
Retzlaff also filed notice with the court she had filed suit through the so-called Unified United States Common Law Grand Jury, demanding the criminal case against her be halted. After the filing, Shawano County Judge William Kussel removed himself from the felony case, prompting the assignment to Judge Moran.
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