SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -- A Sarasota homicide detective has been fired after declaring himself a sovereign citizen.

Tom Laughlin of Parrish filed court documents in April renouncing his U.S. citizenship and claiming he was not subject to federal law and he no longer had to pay taxes.

The 42-year-old detective was fired last week. According to an internal affairs report, supervisors accused Laughlin of associating with a hate group advocating violence, not answering questions honestly and using department computers to search websites on sovereign citizens.

Laughlin told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that he filed the documents to make a political statement but he "didn't want to be involved in any kind of extremist movement." He plans to appeal.