More than 100 firearms have been confiscated across Western Australia in what authorities describe as an operation targeting people with “sovereign citizen” beliefs.

Police say the campaign followed the fatal shooting of two officers in Victoria and claimed the move was necessary to “keep Western Australians safe.”

WA police report Operation Ascendant has been working for one month.

That means it started roughly 1 week after the Desi Freeman incident happened in VIC.

Over 40 lawful gun owners that live in WA have had their firearms seized and licenses revoked for not being fit and proper… pic.twitter.com/Ae5YFRdvuv

— HoodLaw (@AusHoodLaw) October 5, 2025

WA Police said they had identified about 1,000 people in the state who profess sovereign citizen views, with 70 of them owning firearms. Officers searched those gun owners’ properties last week, seizing 135 firearms and cancelling or suspending 44 licences.

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Police Minister Reece Whitby said authorities had been gathering intelligence on people with such beliefs since the shooting in Porepunkah. He argued that “the risk of allowing people with such beliefs to own guns was far too high.”

“Not every sovereign citizen is a risk, but some are, and that is a risk we cannot take,” Whitby said.

“For someone who is a professed sovereign citizen, whose beliefs are that they do not have to abide by the laws, how on earth can the people of WA entrust those people with the responsibilities of being a lawful gun owner?”

He added, “We have seen some very tragic and serious incidents in other states. We want to keep Western Australians safe, we want to keep our police officers safe.”

Under the operation, anyone deemed to have expressed views associated with the sovereign citizen movement in court or police documents had their licence immediately cancelled or suspended pending review.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said officers were assessing licence holders with input from doctors and other specialists. “If you have made it clear you do not abide by laws, there is no way you can be a fit and proper person to hold firearms in WA,” he said.

“Whether you agree with the law or not, it’s irrelevant. It’s about whether you abide by the law.”

While Blanch claimed the crackdown was about safety, critics say it reflects a growing pattern of authorities using “extremism” as a pretext to tighten firearm regulations and strip law-abiding citizens of their rights.

Blanch acknowledged some would view the operation as “excessive” but maintained it was necessary. “In the last three years, six officers have been murdered by a firearm attending properties. That is unprecedented,” he said.

He added that similar operations were likely to continue, declaring that WA was “ahead of the curve” in targeting sovereign citizen ideology.