Romana Didulo, a QAnon-inspired conspiracy theorist, has been arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). <\/p>\n
Ms Didulo was arrested along with 16 others after law enforcement executed a search warrant at a decommissioned school on Wednesday, according to RCMP officials. <\/p>\n
Ms Didulo, who styled herself as the “Queen of Canada” and leads a group called the “Kingdom of Canada”, has been living in the village of Richmound, Saskatchewan, for the past two years. <\/p>\n
She posted a livestream of what appears to be her arrest on her Telegram page on Wednesday. The video shows at least three armed officers entering the room, with one saying: “Leave the phone down. You’re under arrest.”<\/p>\n
Authorities obtained a search warrant for the property after receiving a report last month that someone at the property had a firearm, which are federally regulated in Canada.<\/p>\n
RCMP seized four replica handguns after searching the building and eight RVs on the property.<\/p>\n
Canadian authorities said they arrested Ms Didulo, 48, and others they “expect” to be associated with her “Kingdom of Canada” group. <\/p>\n
Seventeen people remained in custody as of Wednesday afternoon, RCMP said. No charges have been filed yet but police have 24 hours to do so.<\/p>\n
In her livestream footage, Ms Didulo says she is not resisting arrest and asks officers if she can take a moment to shut off her phone. <\/p>\n
Inspector Ashley St Germaine of the RCMP confirmed that officers were not met with resistance and no gunfire was exchanged during the arrests.<\/p>\n
Ms Didulo emigrated from the Philippines to Canada as a teenager. She set up several businesses before forming a fringe political party in 2020.<\/p>\n
Following endorsements from QAnon leaders, she built up a band of followers, declared that she had overthrown the legitimate government of Canada, and said her claim to the “Queen of Canada” title is backed by secret, powerful US military interests.<\/p>\n
On her most popular Telegram channel she has issued “decrees” to absolve her more than 36,000 followers from bills and debts.<\/p>\n
That has resulted in followers losing their homes, cars and possessions, according to Christine Sarteschi, a professor at Chatham University in Pittsburgh and an expert on extremism and the sovereign citizen movement – a broad collection of anti-government groups who evade taxes and make up their own fake legal systems.<\/p>\n
Ms Didulo and her followers spread a variety of different beliefs, including sovereign citizen, anti-vaccination conspiracies, and ideas related to QAnon – a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory that says former US President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.<\/p>\n
While QAnon’s spurious narratives revolve around US figures, the theory has taken hold in some parts of Canada and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n