‘Queen of Canada’: the rapid rise of a fringe QAnon figure sounds alarm – By Leyland Cecco (The Guardian) / Aug 23, 2022
Romana Didulo claims sovereignty over Canada and is gaining fame online as trust erodes in the country’s civil institutions
She travels Canada in a flag-draped RV with an entourage. She greets supporters in small towns, who eagerly film the encounters on mobile phones. She’s called on her disciples to execute healthcare workers and politicians who support mass vaccination campaigns.
To her more than 60,000 followers online, she’s the newly installed Queen of Canada. But to law enforcement and national security officials, she represents the threat that online conspiracy theorists may be all too capable of inflicting real-world harm.
Romana Didulo, a leader within a fringe Q-Anon-linked movement, has claimed sovereignty over Canada, gaining limited but growing popularity amid an erosion of trust in the country’s democratic and civil institutions.
Last week, Didulo made national headlines after her disciples attempted to make a “citizen’s arrest” of police officers in Peterborough, an Ontario city nearly 300km south-west of Ottawa. The stunt prompted warnings from experts that similar events are likely in the future as online groups become more emboldened to act.
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