Christine Sarteschi, Chatham University

Romana Didulo is a Canadian conspiracy theorist who falsely asserts she is the queen and ruler of Canada. On her instructions, some of her disciples recently attempted to arrest police officers in southern Ontario.

The plan was then to turn the police over to the military to be tried as war criminals. If convicted of crimes against humanity, the police officers would be executed, according to Didulo. Instead, her followers were arrested and charged with assaulting police officers.

Nonetheless, Didulo is making strides in replicating her movement in the United States and beyond.

This expansion began in July 2022. As a behavioural scientist and researcher of what’s known as the sovereign citizenship movement, I have been monitoring Didulo and how she’s expanding her reach.

In the United States, the “Kingdom of America” is now being led by “His Highness King David J Carlson” and his wife “Her Highness Lady Sarah MG Carlson.” The couple are residents of Arizona but little else is known about them.

‘Clinton cartel’

“King Carlson” claims to be “Commander-in-Chief” of the “United States Armed Forces Civilian Command.” He claims he was awarded this position after a failed coup attempt “by the Clinton cartel to overthrow the election of Donald Trump. The military then stepped in and made sure that Donald Trump actually took office.”

The military then allegedly showed its gratitude by making him King of America and commander-in-chief. He offers no evidence to support his contention.

If the Carlsons and Didulo have their way, they would install a “benevolent monarchy” under natural law or God’s law. Didulo’s 79 royal decrees would become law. As “civilian white hats” (a QAnon reference to freedom fighters), the people would become “sovereign free beings,” guided by “sovereign principles.”

They want to create “secondary government for if and when the other governments fall or fail.” Their monarchy system would eliminate politics seen as divisive and a tool used by the “evil cabal” to “brainwash humanity.”

They are currently recruiting volunteers for leadership positions in all 50 states. To date, they have identified “ministers” for 30 states. These ministers are encouraged to build a following for themselves and to create their own security teams. King Carlson has also appointed a “Minister of National Global Intelligence, US Navy,” a “Minister of Global Affairs” and an “Advisory Minister of the Kingdom of America, US Army.”

As part of the Carlson-Didulo outreach efforts, they’ve been contacting public officials. They have written letters to the attorney general of Florida, Miami-Dade County officials, managers for the city of Miami, veterans’ groups and high-profile Republicans via the social media website, Truth Social.

They write that the movement “is being brought to the world’s attention, [and] the Kingdom of America will be mirroring her Royal Majesty Queen Romana.”

Rift developing

Interestingly, a rift between King David and Queen Romana has emerged. Despite her contention that she’s queen, he does not yet consider her as such (he says she’s a contender and in the running). Carlson also believes that Didulo’s decrees are not law, but he aims to implement them.

The most noteworthy decrees erase all debts, make electricity free, abolish income tax and make water bills illegal. Didulo’s followers have responded by not paying their bills, and are beginning to lose their properties and homes.

Her edicts are causing tangible harm to her followers. If her movement gains traction in the U.S. and other countries, we can expect similar outcomes.

Beyond the leaders Didulo has appointed in the United States, leaders have also been appointed for Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, England, Vietnam, Switzerland, Hungary and the German state of Bavaria.

Didulo announced a woman named Helen Edwards is now “queen, commander-in-chief and president” of Australia and New Zealand. Edwards was chosen by Didulo because she was “familiar with her work more than anyone else” and for her fight against the “deep state cabal.”

Edwards has since started her own page on the Telegram messaging app to communicate with her subjects.

She states, in her personal biography, that she had previously worked as a public interest officer, a cybercrime analyst, is an advocate for justice and is a humanitarian. In the footsteps of Didulo, she too regards herself as a benevolent ruler.

The new leader of Germany and Austria is “Her Royal Majesty Queen Regina.” “Her Royal Majesty Queen Xuyen Nguyen” will rule Vietnam, and “Her Royal Majesty Queen Meryl” has been tapped to run Switzerland.

Five leaders, from the “Kingdom of Britain for Natural Law,” publicly discussed their plans to parallel Didulo’s ideology in their respective towns. They spoke about their decision to stop paying their bills, fully expecting not to lose their homes. One of the leaders, mimicking Didulo’s travel in an RV, said she would also be travelling around, greeting the people.

‘Sovereign citizens’

Didulo and her people are seeking to replace legitimate governments in all of North America via their movement. Her claims are many, outrageous and all without proof.

She claims to be a reptilian shape-shifter who can become invisible at any given time. She claims to have healing chambers aboard her many space ships, with the power to heal any disease and only available to her believers.

Many of her edicts mandate the death penalty. She has advocated hanging people upside down from helicopters and dropping them to their deaths in crocodile-infested waters.

Her claims, though ridiculous and without seeming merit, led directly to the alleged assault of Canadian police officers.

She may be laughable but she is most certainly not harmless, and her movement’s global expansion needs to be taken seriously by authorities.

Christine Sarteschi, Associate Professor of Social Work & Criminology, Chatham University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.