‘Freedom County’ couple evicted from their home

Herald staff

LAKE GOODWIN — A Lake Goodwin couple whose financial woes in 2001 became a rallying point for a group that calls itself Freedom County were evicted from their home last week, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Monday.

A court order evicting Gaius and Donna Kazen from their $1.3 million Lake Goodwin shorefront home was enforced Jan. 9, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said.

The Kazens earlier lost a lawsuit over nonpayment of their mortgage, and a Superior Court judge repeatedly signed orders clearing the way for the sheriff’s office to evict the Kazens.

The house had been used as a gathering spot for backers of Freedom County. Members last year sent Sheriff Rick Bart and other county officials letters warning them not to evict the Kazens. The letters asserted that the sheriff’s office and the courts have no authority in the area Freedom County backers claim has seceded from Snohomish County.

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