Chase Allan was a former college and high school athlete from Utah who was shot and killed by Farmington police officers on March 1, 2023, according to the Farmington Police Department and a statement from the Allan family.
Allan, 25, was shot inside a vehicle after a traffic stop, the police news release said. “They shot 12 plus rounds at him while he was still inside the car with the engine running and lights on when reporters arrived,” the family’s statement said, calling Allan’s death a “brutal murder.” Police say it remains under investigation. His full name was Chase Linde Allen. In a second news release that was emailed to Heavy, Farmington Police said that Chase Allan was armed with a gun.
“In loving memory of our beautiful Son! May his life and legacy live on forever in our hearts!!!! We love you Chase Allan!!!!!❤️❤️❤️” Allan’s mother, Diane Allan, wrote on Facebook.
Federal court records obtained by Heavy indicate that Chase Allan’s mother sued the Farmington Police Department in September 2022, rejecting their authority as a sovereign citizen when she was given a traffic citation. Chase Allan was involved in the aftermath of her case, according to the lawsuit and state court records obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, sovereign citizens “believe they are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government and consider themselves exempt from U.S. law. They use a variety of conspiracy theories and falsehoods to justify their beliefs and their activities, some of which are illegal and violent.” The Center says the movement’s roots are “racist and antisemitic.”
Allan’s sister, Courtney Vandegrift, wrote Heavy objecting to the term sovereign citizen being used to describe Diane Allan, saying that the correct term is “American State National” instead. She also claimed that Diane Allan’s name is copyrighted.
“The term Sovereign Citizen has been used by certain entities to weaponize government and law enforcement against the people,” Vandegrift wrote Heavy. “This results in acts of domestic terrorism being perpetrated against innocent and upstanding members of the community, especially those who support and believe in religious rights and people’s liberties.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, “American State National is a term used by sovereign citizens and some QAnon adherents to refer to themselves, reflecting their belief that they are not citizens of what they perceive is an illegitimate, tyrannical federal government. The term has been popularized in recent years by sovereign citizen gurus Bobby Lawrence and David Straight, who teach sovereignty with a QAnon bent.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Farmington Police Say Chase Allan Was Armed With a Gun & Was Stopped for an ‘Illegitimate License Plate
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Farmington police say that a Farmington officer pulled Chase Allan over on Wednesday afternoon March 1, 2023, after accusing him of driving without a license plate.
In a second news release, emailed to Heavy, Farmington police wrote that it “holds transparency in the highest regard” and that officers are equipped with body-worn cameras, which captured the Allan shooting. The video footage was not released.
The release says a police officer attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle with an “illegitimate license plate.” The driver pulled into a parking stall at the U.S. Post Office and rolled the window down “only a few inches and refused to provide identification or cooperate with the officer in anyway,” according to the release.
He “asserted his independence from the laws of the land as well as his belief that he was not required to provide information to the officer, nor was he required to cooperate,” according to the police news release.
The first officer called for assistance and a supervisor, two officers, and a trainee assigned to him, responded to the scene, the release says.
“Officers exhausted multiple further attempts to persuade Mr. Allan to cooperate and ordered him to exit the vehicle,” according to the news release, which says, “When Mr. Allan still refused to exit the vehicle, an officer opened the door to the car and another officer attempted to remove Mr. Allan from the vehicle.”
“At that time an observing officer yelled out the words ‘gun gun, gun!’ A struggle, which appeared to last only seconds, ensued and gunshots could be heard. Officers secured Mr Allan and began rendering aid to him. An empty holster can be seen on Mr. Allan’s right hip and a handgun can be seen lying on the driver side floorboard of the vehicle,” says the news release.
Police said they won’t “draw any final conclusions” until the investigation is completed, the release says.
A press release from the Farmington Police Department, emailed to Heavy, says that, on March 1, 2023, at about 3:22 p.m., a Farmington police officer “made a traffic stop on a vehicle. The location of the stop was at 145 E. State Street, Farmington Utah.”
See one of the police news release’s here.
According to the release, “the driver of the vehicle was the only occupant. During the stop, the driver became non-compliant with the initial officer.”
The initial officer “called for assistance from other officers. During the confrontation, the initial officer instructed the driver to exit the vehicle, which the driver refused,” the release says. “During an attempt to remove the driver from the vehicle, shots were fired and the driver was injured. The driver was removed from the vehicle and medical aid was rendered by officers on scene. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Chase Allan (25) and transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.”
The Davis County Critical Incident Protocol team “was activated and is conducting the investigation. Details of this incident will be released upon completion of the investigation. Five Farmington City police officers have been placed on administrative leave as per department policy. There were no injuries to any of the officers,” the release says.
According to ABC 4, Farmington Police Chief Eric Johnsen said that Allan was driving a BMW.
2. Chase Allan’s Family Says He Was a ‘Gracious, Loving Soul’ Who Played College & High School Soccer
Chase Allan’s sister, Courtney Vandegrift, released a family statement on her Facebook page, which called Allan “a gracious, loving soul who was known by everyone in his community to be caring, thoughtful, and kind and would do anything for someone in need.”
The statement says that Allan “attended school in Davis County at Eagle Bay Elementary, Farmington Junior High and Davis High School. Although he had a shy and quiet demeanor, he was able to make quick friends who cared about Chase deeply and will remember him fondly.”
The statement continued: “Chase graduated from Davis High School in 2016 where he played soccer earning varsity letters and at the Real Salt Lake Academy. Chase would then pursue higher education and went on to play soccer at UC Davis and Utah State University.”
The family’s statement said:
He was 25 years old and had graduated from Utah State University. He was always selflessly helping and protecting others in need. He has been studying law the last few years and was a patriot doing what he could to defend the people’s freedom and liberty in his community.
The devastating and tragic death of Chase Linde Allan quite literally hits home as his young life was taken from him on Wednesday March 1st, 2023, in the parking lot of our local Farmington City Post Office. Chase was a son, brother, grandson, nephew, peer, teammate, student, and neighbor amongst many other important roles he played within our community.
3. The Family Accused Farmington Police of ‘Stonewalling’ Them & Shooting Chase Allan With ’12 Plus Rounds’
According to the family’s statement, they “have learned more from media coverage about what occurred than anywhere else right now. Officers claim it was a routine traffic stop, yet the officer requested multiple other officers to the scene a couple blocks prior to the stop.”
The statement refers to the shooting death as a murder.
“This resulted in the brutal murder of Chase at the hands of 5 Farmington Police officers, with them shooting him while he was still in his automobile and likely terrified for his safety. They shot 12 plus rounds at him while he was still inside the car with the engine running and lights on when reporters arrived,” it says.
Large police presence at the Farmington Post Office with surrounding streets closed.
A blue sedan in the parking lot has more than a half-dozen bullet holes through its passenger side windows.
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The statement continues,
Police are stonewalling us. Our family has not been permitted to see Chase and has not been contacted by authorities or justice departments with information surrounding this investigation. Chase lived at home with his parents in Farmington. Our family was not properly notified of Chase’s death as next of kin. We found out about Chase’s death along with the entirety of our community via News Reporters and Articles written online.one in need. He attended school in Davis County at Eagle Bay Elementary, Farmington Junior High and Davis High School. Although he had a shy and quiet demeanor, he was able to make quick friends who cared about Chase deeply and will remember him fondly. Chase graduated from Davis High School in 2016 where he played soccer earning varsity letters and at the Real Salt Lake Academy. Chase would then pursue higher education and went on to play soccer at UC Davis and Utah State University.
He was 25 years old and had graduated from Utah State University. He was always selflessly helping and protecting others in need. He has been studying law the last few years and was a patriot doing what he could to defend the people’s freedom and liberty in his community.
The devastating and tragic death of Chase Linde Allan quite literally hits home as his young life was taken from him on Wednesday March 1st, 2023, in the parking lot of our local Farmington City Post Office. Chase was a son, brother, grandson, nephew, peer, teammate, student, and neighbor amongst many other important roles he played within our community.
We have learned more from media coverage about what occurred than anywhere else right now. Officers claim it was a routine traffic stop, yet the officer requested multiple other officers to the scene a couple blocks prior to the stop. This resulted in the brutal murder of Chase at the hands of 5 Farmington Police officers, with them shooting him while he was still in his automobile and likely terrified for his safety. They shot 12 plus rounds at him while he was still inside the car with the engine running and lights on when reporters arrived.
Police are stonewalling us. Our family has not been permitted to see Chase and has not been contacted by authorities or justice departments with information surrounding this investigation. Chase lived at home with his parents in Farmington. Our family was not properly notified of Chase’s death as next of kin. We found out about Chase’s death along with the entirety of our community via News Reporters and Articles written online.
4. Chase Allan’s Mother Sued the Farmington Police Over a Traffic Ticket in 2022, Arguing That She Was ‘One of the Sovereign People of Utah’
PACERexhibit in Diane Allan’s lawsuit.
Allan’s mother works as a realtor, according to her Facebook page, and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Federal court records obtained by Heavy show that Diane Killian Allan filed a federal lawsuit against Dane Hanson, Eric Johnsen, Wayne Hansen, David Cole, Troy Rawlings, John Carl Ynchausti, FARMINGTON CITY, a Corporation, Davis County Attorney’s office, and more. Johnsen is the Farmington police chief, according to his LinkedIn page.
The February 2022 lawsuit says Diane Allan was “one of the sovereign people of Utah.” A court exhibit says that Diane Allan asked the City of Farmington for records identifying her as a person, employer, resident or “as a dead entity or slave,” as well as “records related to Farmington having jurisdiction over you” and records showing she had failed to register her 2014 BMW. Hansen is referred to as an officer.
In the lawsuit, Diane Allan gave her address as “Farmington, Utah State Republic, w/o the United states.”
The mother’s lawsuit contains multiple references to the Bible and the Constitution and claims she is not subject to the U.S. government’s authority.
“Being a woman of God, a living soul, of flesh and blood, of sound mind, intelligent and of competent nature, the creditor, beneficiary and holder in due course of the trust,” it reads. “I am, a member and proud descendant of ‘We the People’ as creator and arbitrator of government. I am NOT one artificially created by government such as ‘Citizen,’ ‘Person,’ ‘Resident’ or ‘Taxpayer.'”
In the lawsuit, she wrote that her husband “was also stopped and issued a Citation by defacto officers operating under color of law” on the same day.
“It appears these officers are intentionally targeting certain People. These actions meet all of the elements of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,” she wrote.
“Neither the DAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE or STATE OF UTAH – Fiction of Law, not a real entities or the Officer who initiated this matter have standing to proceed with the court system’s dispute resolution process; therefore depriving the Court of subject matter jurisdiction,” her lawsuit says.
The lawsuit explains:
In the matter of CITATION# Fl0026165, On April 7, 2022, I was traveling on the Frontage Rd and saw flashing lights and I thought there was an emergency. The defacto officer D Hanson, unlawfully stopped my automobile by force of arms to threaten, intimidate and force a fraudulent securities contract upon me. D. Hansen requested my driver license and registration. I informed him I was not operating under a license and that I was traveling in private and not operating in commerce. He asked for other documentation and I provided my passport and the Constitution. D Hansen called another officer, Eric Johnsen, who joined him at the stop. D Hanson returned to my car window and stated he stopped me for expired registration. I asked D Hansen what his probable cause was for the stop. His reason provided was an expired license plate. I informed him that was not probable cause for a stop and asked again what his probable cause was. I provided him a letter from the Department of Justice with the US Codes Title 18 § 241 & 242 so he could read and be aware he was violating the law before he proceeded. He refused to read it and I informed him verbally of the violation he was committing.
According to the lawsuit, she wrote that she provided the officer with a “letter from the Department of Travel to inform him of The United States of America Department of Travel has advised in a letter dated November 23, 2015 regarding Education of law enforcement agents in which it states that there are unconstitutional acts being committed by law enforcement against those who’s status is different than the average U.S. Citizen and are considered American Nationals.”
5. A Court Exhibit Shows That Chase Allan Was Involved in His Mother’s Legal Fight & Was Accused of Resisting Officers During a Traffic Violation Hearing
PACERChase Allan court exhibit
A court exhibit shows that Chase Allan was involved in his mother’s legal fight, trying to obtain the oath of office of the police chief from the Utah State Archives.
The lawsuit also says that Chase Allan went with his mom to the Farmington Police Department to hand deliver the “recissioned citation.”
According to the Tribune, Allan has no criminal history but “voluntarily showed up” for a woman’s traffic violation hearing in September 2022 and became “disruptive and non-compliant” and “began to resist officers.” He was accused of having “refused to comply” when he was told to leave the courtroom, the Tribune reported. The newspaper did not identify the woman or say whether that was his mother’s court case.
The Tribune reported that Chase Allan was accused by police of having “a small plastic slide credit card device that contained several lock-picking items” and matched the description of an “individual with warrants,” but would not identify himself.
“When asked to stop interrupting, [Allan] responded that deputies had no authority over him, using an expletive,” court documents say, according to The Tribune.
Chase Allan’s Facebook page contains only an old photo of a soccer team and a picture of Allan with a dog.
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