"Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth"
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Her followers regularly serve “cease and desist” orders to courts, hospitals, nursing homes, bill collectors, and other individuals for “crimes against humanity” or “treason.” They post videos of themselves serving these orders, proudly declaring support for their queen
Romana Didulo is a prominent conspiracy theorist who emigrated from the Philippines to Canada. She proclaims herself to be the queen, commander-in-chief, president, and the national indigenous leader of the ‘Kingdom of Canada.’ She and approximately 10 of her closest followers currently reside in an abandoned school in the small town of Richmound, Saskatchewan. She is far more than a harmless, delusional being. To the dismay of the residents, she and her entourage have been encamped there for several months with seemingly no plans to leave.
Before settling in Richmound, Didulo and her entourage spent a year traveling in a recreational vehicle (RV), across Canada, stopping to host ‘meet and greet’ events, often in Walmart parking lots. These events involved Didulo giving lengthy, live-streamed, conspiracy-laden speeches about her imaginary powers and authority. She has and does espouse a bizarre blend of QAnon, anti-vax, New Age spiritualism, anti-LGBTQ, pseudolaw, and her interplanetary origins complete with her fleet of spaceships, currently orbiting the earth. She explains that:
Didulo regards herself as a person of great significance. She claims to be a descendant of an ancient royal family from the “Kingdom of Maharlika” endowed with extreme wealth who gifted the world with trillions of dollars. Research shows her claims to be wholly false. She speaks about herself in the third person and pretends to be guarded by the “Allied Special Forces” or other fictitious military forces whom she invokes in times of distress. She attributes any criticism to the deep state/cabal/black hats (the bad guys) who are paid to undermine her “credibility.”
Because, in reality, she is not the leader of Canada and has no power to evoke change, she has fabricated stories to create the appearance of a superior identity. To give the illusion that she is in control, she opportunistically takes credit for the work of others. It is not unusual for her to claim that she has personally funded housing for the unhoused, built factories to employ the unemployed, and provided the funding to construct new highways. She claims to have the power to manipulate the weather and affect specific, positive outcomes.
Didulo primarily communicates with her followers on Telegram. Telegram is an alternative, encrypted, social messaging app, commonly used by conservative influencers who have been banned from other platforms. There are at least a dozen Telegram channels devoted to Didulo, many of which are maintained by followers of her movement. Estimates of Didulo’s followers, on Telegram, have been as high as 80,000. Currently, that number is closer to 33,000. She remains a prominent figure in the conspiracy community, wielding considerable influence over followers as evidenced by their willingness to act on her behalf.
The key to understanding the primary danger of her movement, harkens back to the infamous murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterberry, in 1170. In the presence of his knights, King Henry II raged against Becket, shouting the words: “Will nobody rid me of this turbulent priest?” Upon hearing these words, the King’s knights took it upon themselves to kill Becket, not having been ordered to do so but simply thinking it would please the king.
Though King Henry II did not order the killing of Becket, he is still considered responsible for his death. His words simply inspired others to commit violence. This phenomenon is known as stochastic terrorism and it perfectly illustrates the risk of the Didulo cult.
Consider the events of August 13, 2022. One of Didulo’s most ardent “knights,” Frank Curtin, and several others, attempted to arrest members of the Peterborough police department. They were accusing Peterborough police officers of having been complicit in “crimes against humanity” for their participation in “COVID crimes.” If the events had unfolded as Didulo planned, the police officers would have been tried and subsequently executed.
Her followers regularly serve “cease and desist” orders to courts, hospitals, nursing homes, bill collectors, and other individuals for “crimes against humanity” or “treason.” They post videos of themselves serving these orders, proudly declaring support for their queen.
Interestingly, Didulo claims to be kind, loving, and benevolent but in reality, she is exactly the opposite. She regularly threatens innocent people with violent death. In her kingdom, nearly every “crime” results in the death penalty; public hangings, firing squad, being thrown from helicopters, or hung by ropes over alligator-infested swamps. She threatened healthcare workers administering vaccinations with “2 bullets to the head.” She has ordered her followers to “shoot to kill” migrants from South America. She once wrote that “if we run out of ropes, it [the execution] will be done by cutting off their heads with a Silver Sword-just like they do in the Middle-East” (sic). Former followers report constant abuse and threats to shoot and kill them. Their time with Didulo has reportedly caused them significant psychological pain.
After arriving in Richmound, Saskatchewan, local officials began receiving death threats on behalf of Didulo. Her followers wrote letters that warned: “Be well assured that failure to Cease and Desist, IMMEDIATELY, from your Rothschild/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.”
There is no evidence that Didulo sent the threat letters herself. Nor is there evidence that she directed her followers to send them. But make no mistake. Didulo’s followers are inspired by her violent rhetoric and constant complaints about the townspeople. The emotional connection they feel towards their queen compels them to act on her behalf.
The people of Richmound, Saskatchewan have the right to be concerned about such people living in their community. Didulo and her followers are not a harmless group. They espouse delusional ideas and spend virtually every night, via their propaganda Telegram news show, publicly decrying the government and specific public officials. Anyone who displeases the queen is an enemy of the queen and thus a target for violence. We can only hope that no one will heed the call.
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