Secession petitions: 'We the People' group petitioning to secede from the U.S. sparks controversy

INDIANAPOLIS - Following the outcome of the Nov. 6 election, a group of Hoosiers is petitioning to secede from the United States.

Indiana is one of 22 states where residents are forming petitions to withdraw from the U.S. and from their own government.

The "We the People" group cites a clause of the Declaration of Independence in its movement that states "whenever the government derives from the powers of the people, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute a new government."

Petitions have been filed for Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Among the 22 states in the secede petition, 17 of them voted for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.