Saskatchewan RCMP arrested 16 adults, including cult leader Romana Didulo, in the village of Richmound on Wednesday after a firearms investigation.
At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon in Regina, Insp. Ashley St. Germaine said RCMP executed a search warrant at a privately owned decommissioned school in Richmound at around 4:30 a.m CST.
Didulo and her followers have been living for two years in the village of approximately 118 people, located 365 kilometres west of Regina, near the Alberta border.
St. Germaine said RCMP got a report on Aug. 25 of one of the building’s occupants possessing a firearm. That led to the investigation that culminated in the raid.
“A team of skilled and experienced senior officers was established to oversee this large and complex operation,” she said.
More than 30 police vehicles from multiple jurisdictions, including two tactical vehicles, were at the scene, St. Germaine said.
A livestream video, posted by Didulo to her followers on Telegram at 5:51 a.m. CST on Wednesday, captured the moment when two officers wearing tactical gear burst into a room where Didulo was standing.
“Leave the phone down. You’re under arrest,” one officer says in the video.
Didulo surrenders to officers and the camera is pointed at the floor for a few minutes. Voices off camera then remark that the phone is livestreaming before the video ends.
Romana Didulo, who calls herself the Queen of the Kingdom of Canada, began a livestream to the platform Telegram Wednesday morning as RCMP descended on her headquarters in Richmound, Sask., where she has been staying with her followers for two years.
St. Germaine said all 16 arrests had been made by 6 a.m. CST.
The investigation is in its early stages, St. Germaine said, with investigators still searching the building and interviewing the arrested. She said the identities of all the people and their connections to Didulo had not yet been confirmed.
“At this time, no charges have been laid,” St. Germaine said.
Richmound’s village council declined to comment, deferring to RCMP.
‘This is the best day of my life,’ Richmound resident says
Vanessa Johnson, a resident of Richmound, said the raid came as a surprise.
“We didn’t really know that anything was going to happen,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she was flooded with calls about the news and went to go witness the event. She said the RCMP’s report about replica guns doesn’t surprise her.
“One of the cult leaders was walking up and down my street, which is quite a bit,” she said. “They really have talked about shooting people bringing boots on the ground.”
Johnson said the news is a huge relief for a small community that has felt frustrated and scared.
“Our spirits are so lifted. I feel so happy,” Johnson said. “This is the best day of my life.”
Cult has been in Richmound for 2 years
Didulo and her followers have been living in the former school in Richmound for two years.
Christine Sarteschi, a professor at Chatham University who researches and monitors cults, said Didulo’s followers believe she is the “Queen of Canada.”
“[Didulo] tells them that she is the ultimate authority, that she is the ruler under natural law. She is effectively the supreme ruler of all the land. She tells them they don’t have to pay taxes,” Sarteschi said in an interview on Wednesday.
“It’s anything Romana says and the followers truly believe what she says.”
The cult began as part of the larger Q-Anon movement — which believes there is a secret cabal running the government — and has now evolved into a sovereign citizen movement, Sarteschi said.
Sovereign citizens, also known as freemen of the land, believe laws don’t apply to them.
Didulo’s followers also don’t believe in vaccination and are convinced their leader has alien powers, Sarteschi said.
“I think that they’re attracted to her because she says things that appeal to them,” Sarteschi said.
Didulo’s followers have disrupted local residents since settling in Richmound.
In July, the village office closed its doors to the public outside pre-arranged appointments, citing harassment and intimidation toward staff.
Rick Manz, the owner of the property and one of Didulo’s followers, was charged in July with assault, resisting arrest and uttering threats.
Tensions are high in the small southwest Saskatchewan village of Richmound, nine months after the “Kingdom of Canada” set up camp in an old school.
