Romana Didulo, the so-called “Queen of Canada,” was rearrested on Thursday a day after she and 15 of her followers were taken into custody and promptly released following a police raid on her cult’s compound in rural Saskatchewan.
All 16 had been released without charges earlier on Thursday, the RCMP said in a statement, though five were released under certain conditions.
Didulo, 50, was rearrested for violating her conditions, as was 61-year-old Ricky Manz, the man who owns the former elementary school in Richmound, Sask., where Didulo and her followers have been living for two years, the Mounties said.
Didulo and Manz had been ordered not to communicate with each other.
Didulo has been charged with failure to comply with an undertaking and one count of intimidation of a justice system participant. Manz faces similar charges.
‘Queen of Canada’ cult leader arrested after RCMP raid at Richmound, Sask., compound
“Police officers can release individuals on undertakings before a court information is signed. That is when charges are formalized and made public,” the statement said.
Officials on Thursday said they would not provide details on the three others released on undertakings as their court information had not yet been signed.
Since the cult set up base in Richmound — a village of approximately 120 people, about 365 kilometres west of Regina, near the Alberta border — there have been a number of complaints from locals, who accuse the group of harassing people and plotting to take over the town.
Didulo has spread various conspiracy theories through social media and, in October 2023, her group sent a Richmound administrator four “cease and desist” emails, which threatened village officials with “publicly broadcast execution.”
Manz has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Swift Current Provincial Court on Friday.
Didulo was not remanded but is also scheduled to appear in that same court on Friday.
RCMP Insp. Ashley St. Germaine stressed at a Wednesday news conference that police could only hold individuals in custody for 24 hours without laying charges.
St. Germaine added that just because an individual was released from custody did not mean that charges could not be laid later.
Police say they raided the compound after receiving a report that one of its occupants had a firearm.
Officers seized 13 imitation semi-automatic handguns, ammunition and a large number of electronic devices.
‘Queen of Canada’ livestreams her own arrest as RCMP deploy to cult headquarters in Sask.
