Sovereign citizen James Bartolo offers bizarre excuse as he’s pulled over

An anti-lockdown activist has filmed himself firing off a bizarre tirade at a police officer who pulled him over for driving while disqualified.

James Bartolo, 29, who famously talked about Melbourne’s prolonged Covid lockdowns during the height of the pandemic, was apprehended earlier this year in Morayfield, north of Brisbane.

But when the policeman asked him to show his driver’s license, Mr. Bartolo said he didn’t have one because ‘I don’t drive’.

He then went on a nonsensical rant about not having to have a driver’s license because he was “traveling” instead of driving, before being slapped with a notice to appear in court.

In the bizarre footage, Mr. Bartolo, who was behind the wheel of his car, can be heard telling the officer that, while he did not have a driver’s license, he had a presumably self-made ‘certificate of competence’.

When asked his full name, he replied “James The Traveller,” before reluctantly giving his last name, which he said belonged to “the legal fiction” that registered the car.

“But I’m not,” Mr. Bartolo said.

The policeman said he appeared in court the day before, where he was disqualified from driving, before issuing another notice to appear.

“Okay, but I don’t drive, I didn’t drive,” said Mr. Bartolo.

“I didn’t drive here, I traveled here.”

James Bartolo (pictured) is a former bodybuilder. He told the police officer that he did not have a driver’s license because he was not driving but was “travelling” instead

When asked how the car ended up here, Mr Bartolo replied: ‘I moved it’.

“Did you move it using the car’s controls?” replied the officer.

Mr Bartolo then said ‘yes’ before seeming to realize he had admitted to the crime.

He then tried to explain that driving is a “commercial term” and told the officer to check the Black’s Law dictionary.

The officer then asked Mr. Bartolo if he understood that he had been banned from driving for a month.

“I don’t drive, that’s why I tried to teach you the technical term of it, because I haven’t driven,” he replied.

The officer then said he was not interested in negotiating with Mr Bartolo and told him to appear in court in February next year.

The covid conspiracy theorist was banned from driving for a month. He told the officer he was not “driving” in a bizarre and nonsensical diatribe

The footage was shared on Twitter this week and many praised the policeman for his restraint.

Others called Mr. Bartolo a “clown.”

In January, Mr Bartolo created his own ID containing his weight, eye color and email address.

Instead of name, the category was listed as ‘known by’ and ‘date of arrival’ replaced his date of birth.

He also said he had “no permanent address” on his ID and said he was born in “Sunshine, Australia.”

The 29-year-old made headlines in September 2020 when he was arrested at his Melbourne home.

Four police officers broke into his door after he refused to open it, before handcuffing him to the floor of his living room.

He was charged with sedition for allegedly encouraging his social media followers to attend an anti-lockdown rally.