In 1968 Michael Bates fired what he claimed to be warning shots from a .22 pistol at a service crew working on a buoy near Roughs Tower, the platform that constitutes Sealand. Bates was still technically a British citizen at the time and was charged with illegal possession and discharge of a firearm. However, the court ruled that because the incident took place outside British territory, no judgment could be handed down. Sealand interpreted this ruling as implying a de facto recognition of its sovereignty.
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