I don't mouth off to them, I just assert my rights as a US citizen.
OK, there have been 20 pages of back and forth (and people getting banned) since the quote above was made, but this simple statement above needs to be addressed...
As a "US Citizen" you do not have ANY rights. You MUST understand that if you truly wish to be a free person.
The term "US citizen" is not legally defined in the Constitution- it is only legally defined in the case law history following the ratification of the 14th Amendment.
Prior to the 14th, there was NO SUCH THING as federal citizenship. You were a citizen of one of the "Several States" that comprised the Union (either natural born within the state's borders, or naturalized via residency and the individual state's immigration process) .
When the slaves were "freed", none of the defeated southern states would confer citizenship upon the newly emancipated black Americans, and the Union had no legal basis to force (or compel) them to do so; so following the passage of the 14th, the Federal Government created a district (a new "state" if you will) called The District of Columbia; and this new district conferred citizenship upon all who wished to be called Americans, but did not have a legal state of citizenship.
ALL of the federal immigration and naturalization case law following this event has served to solidify the language that a "US Citizen" is a naturalized and legal subject of the District of Columbia. There is no way that a "citizen" of an invented federal zone can EVER be a free person. You are a federal subject.
When you declare yourself to be a "US Citizen" you are actually providing "them" with the legal basis necessary to treat you as an inferior human being (a "subject", also known throughout history as a peon, or serf)- This is why there is no court in this system that will treat you as a free human being if you declare yourself to be a US citizen.
Master the legal language - it is the only defense you have against the legal march of tyrannical intention. The judges are powerless to help you once you declare yourself to be a subject of a corrupted legal system.
The defense is simple- whenever you are asked "Are you a US citizen?" your answer must not be "yes"; and it also must not be "no" unless you want them to harass you even further...
I have found the following alternatives to be effective:
"I am an Arizona citizen" (Arizona being the "Several State" of my legal birth)
or
"I'm an American" or "I'm an American citizen" (the term "American citizen" is a generic legal claim that you are a citizen of one of the several states, without being specific as to which one)
Or the one I used just yesterday in reference to my entire family when we were driving home:
"We're all citizens..." (notice I did not declare any state or legal jurisdiction- we could have been Canadians for all they knew, but they let us pass)
When you declare a specific legal jurisdiction relevant to your citizenship, you subject yourself to the laws of that jurisdiction; and when you declare your legal jurisdiction to be the federal UNITED STATES OF AMERICA you are seriously opening yourself to some real and serious legal oppression.
It is absolutely easiest to play along and cooperate with them, but in so doing, you NEVER have to subjugate yourself...
Pardon my disdain, but pleading the 5th in front of unformed officers who do not even understand the law they are supposed to be enforcing is extremely stupid. The 5th amendment is designed to protect you from incriminating yourself - this sends the red flag that you are a criminal who seeks to protect himself (or herself).
These uniformed agents only understand procedure, and they have procedures that spell out for them that anyone who tries to evade their questions is hiding something, and that people usually only hide criminal behavior...
If you want to be free, then you better understand the legal boundries of the law that governs THEIR behavior, as well as your own...