Tensions are growing in a small Canadian town after a cult took over an abandoned school and followers of the so-called “QAnon Queen” sent death threats to local officials.
On September 13, the small quiet town of Richmound, Saskatchewan, had its world turned upside down when Romana Didulo—a woman who has convinced a sizeable group of people she’s the true Queen of Canada—and a group traveling with her rolled into town took up residence in an abandoned school.
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The group and the townspeople have had an uneasy relationship since their arrival. The town held a rally to get them out but it was to no avail. The cult, which is paranoid at the best of times, has been driving around taking pictures of locals, and has set up guards and wire around the school’s perimeter. A nearby playground was taped off by officials because parents were too scared to have their children play near the school.
The threat to multiple town officials came in the form of a cease and desist letter—Didulo’s followers have been sending similar letters to politicians, journalists, and schools for several years now. The letter is a mix of conspiratorial ramblings and sovereign citizen (a philosophy that falsely suggests some people don’t need to follow a nation’s laws or pay taxes) gobbeldy-gook.
“Be well assured that failure to Cease and Desist, IMMEDIATELY, from your Rothchild/CCP based communistic, unfair, demoralizing, and immoral activities and behaviors while “serving the (We the People)” and “before the (We the People)” under the present Natural Law WILL surely bring forth judgment upon yourselves and if found guilty of ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ or ‘Treason’ you WILL face publicly broadcast executions upon yourselves, and underserved devastation upon your children, grandchildren and families,” it reads.
Richmound Mayor Brad Miller, one of the targets of the threats, told VICE News that he’s been in contact with their local Member of Parliament and has set up a meeting with the “village council, Regional Municipality council, RCMP, fire department, and emergency services” to talk about the cult. He’s asking for help in removing them from his town.
“One specific thing that was said was that our kids, grandkids, and school would watch the executions,’ said Miller. “This is offside. These threats should be taken seriously, there is no room for error here!”
Richmond officials will be meeting with Saskatchewan’s justice minister sometime in the near future, however it’s not known how helpful they’ll be. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was asked about Didulo and her group at a press conference earlier this week but didn’t offer much of a response.
“We have the right to have those views, but to come around and continue to push those views onto someone else — this is an unfortunate incident,” Moe said.
“I think we all do well, including this group, to just be a little bit more understanding,” he added.
Didulo is a cult figure who grew out of the QAnon movement. What separates her from many of her similar conspiracy leaders is she was able to take her online following offline. Since early 2022 Didulo has been on the road traveling the country and meeting her followers in towns across Canada. She’s accompanied by a die-hard group of followers who follow her bidding and, according to former members of the cult who spoke to VICE News, are abused in a myriad of ways by Didulo.
Death sentences being bestowed against their enemies has been a rallying point for the group for years now. The man responsible for penning the letter shared it within an Alberta-based Telegram chat that supports Didulo. He posted it in full and urged his fellow believers to “copy and paste this C&D and email it to the deep state minions in Richmound, Saskatchewan harassing and threatening our precious Queen Romana.”
Since their arrival, the town has, unsurprisingly, been at a loss for how to handle the group. While the crew hasn’t broken any laws they’ve certainly upended the community and now with these threats the town is on high alert, Miller said.
“Most are scared of what might come to town. I was asked how it’s affecting myself and my wife. In the long run, it changed our day-to-day living,” said Miller. “(When we) hear noises at night while watching TV, (we’re) thinking ‘hmmm what was that.’ (We’re) more paranoid and (we have our) heads on a swivel.”
The school has been abandoned for 11 years now and a local man, who is a believer in Didulo, is allowing them to stay there. Recently the group had a livestream featuring the man where they asked for her followers to donate money so they could help pay back taxes that he owed.
This plea for donations caused a little bit of confusion among the crowd as Didulo had previously declared that taxes do not need to be paid by Canadians under her rule. This “decree” and similar ones stating that her followers don’t need to pay their utility bills, taxes, and mortgages have led to several of her followers having their power cut and some even losing their homes.
“This is confusing,” one follower wrote. “I have sent my county Royal Decrees and haven’t paid my taxes for three years. Not because I haven’t the money but because we didn’t have to. Is this not right?
