Gbaja-Biamila, as he has done on a number of occasions, represented himself in the legal proceedings. He has unsuccessfully tried to convince a series of judges and court commissioners of his theory of sovereign citizenship and the belief that his religious views supersede civil law.

He spent considerable time in court Tuesday quoting the Old Testament in defense of his position that the civil court had no jurisdiction over him. Zuidmulder was initially patient, even after Gbaja-Biamila interrupted him at the start of the hearing.

Gbaja-Biamila opened the proceeding by saying he was not in court in person or as a respondent, but as a man. He said that despite providing the court with a birth certificate from California, "I am not a citizen of the republic."

"I have my own laws which are superior," Gbaja-Biamila said.

An attorney who appeared to know Gbaja-Biamila stepped forward with an offer to help him with getting bonded out of jail after he was tasered, handcuffed and strapped to a chair for transport because he was still unsteady on his feet. He made it clear he did not want her to represent him, however, because he did not want to become "a ward of the state."