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The Village of Richmound has rallied its surrounding communities to come together this weekend with one message: they want Romana Didulo and her followers to leave.
Yesterday, the Village invited folks from all across southwest Saskatchewan to come to their ballpark, adjacent to the former Richmound School. There, they organized a protest to encourage Didulo and her 'Kingdom of Canada' zealots to pack up and hit the road.
The day began at 11:30 a.m., when Brad Miller, Mayor of Richmound, hosted a press conference at the RM of Enterprise offices. He was joined by Fox Valley Mayor, Sean Checkley, Leader Mayor Aaron Wenzel, and MLA for Cypress Hills Doug Steele.
Together, they fielded questions about the ongoing situation, contact they've had with the group, and plans they had been working on to find a peaceful solution.
"Our focus is to move her out of Richmound and hopefully back into the United States," said Miller. "Then it won't be a Canadian, Saskatchewan problem or a Richmound or southwest problem."
It was revealed that not only had Didulo and her people sent death threats to Miller and Richmound residents, but had been seen driving near Fox Valley School and sending threats to teachers and Checkley.
"Fox Valley is the home to the Richmound students," said Checkley. "The children shouldn't have to be worried about those types of things, so the community is one. It works together and continues to support each other."
These threats are part of the reason why the RCMP showed up in Richmound. Manning check stops at the entrances to the village, they ensured that everyone coming to Richmound was there to be peaceful, and ensured they made it to their destination without incident.
Folks not only came to town for the protest, but a fair few made it out to join up with the 'Kingdom of Canada' at the former school building. The property, which is privately owned by Richmound local Ricky Manz, has been the base of operations for the group in the community.
Fences were put up along the face of the school, alongside the property line marked by rope and posted no trespassing signs. These fanatics stayed on their side of the line, videoing anyone who approached, with the majority staying inside the school building, including Didulo.
"What's a leader when they don't come out and speak to you?" asked Miller. "I'm sticking up for the majority of Richmound, southwest Saskatchewan, Canada, and I'll do anything that I have to do in my power to help that majority out. She will not come out and speak to me, so to me, she's not a leader. She's hiding behind the closed door."
The protests got underway in earnest after Miller gave a brief speech, imploring everyone to be civil, and thanking them for coming out to show support for the community.
After that, the barbeques got to cooking up burgers, and people began their protest.
Over 40 vehicles began to drive in circles around the school, all the while with RCMP watching to ensure nothing escalated further from there. Horns were honked, chants were hollered, and motors revved. The entire time, the message was the same. They wanted these people to leave their community, and they wanted them to do it soon.
Brandi Bachmeier lives on a farm just a quarter mile outside of Richmound. She has been able to watch as the quiet community has been turned upside down, as the zealots at the school have harassed locals.
"We're very close," said Bachmeier. "We see it every day."
'Kingdom of Canada' followers who have been staying in the village for the last month have been documented driving erratically, following people in the streets, and taking photos of license plates and of anyone they suspect of not aligning with their beliefs.
The general feelings in the village have been tension, fear, and uncertainty. Some of those feelings were eased when the RCMP set up a Mobile Operations Centre in Richmound, providing an ongoing police presence in the village last weekend.
After the first hour and a half, most folks parked their vehicles back at the adjacent ball diamonds. There they enjoyed the company of everyone who came out to show support and offered discussion of how their lives had been affected.
"The outcome I'm looking for is that we can get them out of here," said Bachmeier. "That we can show them that Saskatchewan does not want them here, that any community does not want them. If we could somehow kibosh the entire system that they have going on, that would be the best outcome for all."
Today, they plan to continue their protest. Threats of public execution in various 'Cease and Desist' emails made it clear that these are dangerous individuals, and have brought the RCMP on board for investigation.
Swift Current Online will continue to provide updates as they emerge and will be actively following the situation.
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