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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes that
LaJune describes herself as a conservative journalist.
The SPLC also uncovered a scam in which LaJune sells
information about supposed hidden corporate trust
accounts that were secretly created by government
actors (Hatewatch Staff, 2018). That is a variation on
the sovereign citizen Strawman Theory. In November
2022, LaJune, then a Jackson County, Missouri
Legislature candidate, was charged with misdemeanor
domestic assault after allegedly pulling a gun in August
2022 on her now ex-partner (Jackson, 2022). LaJune
claimed self-defense, but her own video recording
showed the opposite (Jackson, 2022).
Lajune was also involved in the case of Kevin Johnston,
a Canadian conspiracy theorist and fugitive who was
supposed to turn himself in to the police to serve an
18-month prison sentence, but instead absconded
and attempted to enter the United States (Lamoureux,
2022). LaJune recorded herself driving to the Canadian
border from Missouri to assist the escapee in obtaining
“political asylum in the United States” (Lamoureux,
2022). While attempting to cross the border to the
United States, Johnston got lost in the woods in very
cold temperatures (Lamoureux, 2022). Unable to
locate Johnston, and worried about his safety, LaJune
called United States Customs and Border Protection to
save his life (Lamoureux, 2022). A border patrol agent
eventually located and arrested Johnston. LaJune does
not appear to have been charged for her involvement in
the attempted escape.
C. E~Clause, QAnon, and Parental Abductions
Three cases of parental child abductions have been
linked to E~Clause. E~Clause, which stands for
emoluments clauses, was a Florida-based pseudolaw
group previously run by Christopher Hallett and Kirk
Pendergrass who advocated meritless sovereign citizen
tactics to clients (Hyland, 2021 Wells, &Scheck, 2021).
Hallett, who had his own bad experiences involving
courts and child custody issues, theorized that judges
and lawyers were illegally enriching themselves by
violating the emoluments clause, a provision of the
Constitution of the United States (Wells, &Scheck,
2021). The emoluments clauses are divided into three
provisions: foreign, domestic and ineligibility. The
foreign emoluments clause is meant to prevent sitting
leaders from accepting foreign gifts or payments
(Samee Ali, 2017). The domestic provision prohibits
any change in the President’s compensation to avoid
undue influence (Congressional Research Service,
2021). The ineligibility portion prohibits federal
officials from also serving simultaneously as Members
of Congress (Congressional Research Service, 2021).
Despite his arguments being legally meritless and
having no victories in court, Hallett gained a reputation
for helping mothers who had lost custody of their
children (Hyland, 2021 Sommer, 2020). As described
in more detail below, Hallett was killed via homicide
in 2020 in relation to E~Clause. In April 2021, Hallett’s
son posted a Facebook message that he was shutting
down E~Clause. “Should the work he started continue,
it will be up to others to take up the mantle in his stead.”
1. Emily Jolley
Emily Jolley lost custody of her six-year-old son, likely
as a result of making false allegations of abuse against
her ex-partner, the child’s father (Vaughen, 2020). The
father had full custody. During a supervised visit in
September 2020, Jolley (with suspected assistance from
her mother) kidnapped her son from Utah and took
him to Oregon (Cleary, 2020 Millcreek grandmother
charged, 2020). An amber alert was issued. The child
was eventually returned to his father.
Evidence suggests that Jolley subscribed to both
QAnon and sovereign citizen ideas. In Facebook posts,
she claimed her ex-partner and CPS agencies were
involved in child sex trafficking. Another post claimed
that children seized by CPS are used as a source for
“adrenochrome” that is then consumed by the QAnon
conspiracy elite (Sommer, 2020). Jolley accused the
government agency of having legally “kidnapped” her
son from her. According to family members, Jolley had
been planning the kidnapping for months, or perhaps
even years (Sommer, 2020 Vaughen, 2020).
Jolley’s twin sister said that Jolley became interested
in sovereign citizen tactics (and thus E~Clause) when
attempting to regain custody of her son (Sommer,
2020). During one visit, Jolley asked her then five-year
son to sign his name and provide an ink fingerprint
for “relinquishing his rights as a U.S. citizen” (Vaughen,

ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: doi.org/10.54208/1000/0006 139
2020). When officers attempted to locate the child and
his mother, Jolley’s mother gave them paperwork from
the non-existent “Supreme Court of the Utah Common
Law Constitutional Court” (Millcreek grandmother,
2020). Common law courts are a typical claim among
those in the sovereign citizen movement. These ideas
likely came directly from E~Clause. Jolley’s current
status is unknown.
2. Cindy Abcug
Cindy Abcug was arrested off U.S. Highway 93 by
the Kalispell police department, assisted by the FBI,
in December 2020 for conspiracy to commit second
degree-kidnapping (Garrison, 2020 MTN News,
2019) and child abuse (Associated Press, 2022b).
Abcug’s teenage daughter contacted the authorities
after overhearing her mother plotting with members of
a local QAnon group to forcibly abduct her seven-year-
old son from foster care. Abcug’s son had been removed
by CPS months prior via an emergency custody order
after Abcug lied about her son’s health condition and
purposely made him sick (Garrison, 2020). An affidavit
notes that Abcug likely had factitious disorder imposed
on another (FDIA) (previously called Munchausen
syndrome by proxy) (Garrison, 2020). FIDA is a rare
diagnosis characterized by a persistent and repetitive
drive to make the victim appear sick to satisfy the
pathological psychological needs of the abuser
(Sanders, &Bursch, 2020). The majority of individuals
with FDIA are mothers (Sanders, &Bursch, 2020).
After losing custody of her son, Abcug turned to a
local QAnon group whose members concluded CPS
was a front for sex traffickers who sexually abuse
and cannibalize children (Sommer, 2020). The
highest profile member of this particular group, Field
McConnell, is a former Navy airline pilot turned
QAnon conspiracy theorist associated with two fringe
organizations: E~Clause, and the “Children’s Crusade”
that claims to fight against imaginary government
pedophile networks (Sommer, 2020).
Acbug consulted McConnell for advice. He advised
her not to get a lawyer, and instead, she should report
her case directly to former President Donald Trump.
McConnell falsely claims he worked for Trump.
McConnell also supplied Abcug with an armed QAnon
member named “Ryan” for protection. “Ryan,” an ex-
military sniper, moved into Abcug’s home (Associated
Press, 2022b). The two limited their social interactions
to only other QAnon members. Soon thereafter, Abcug
purchased a gun and articulated a plan to “raid”
the foster care home where her son was living. She
believed that the child’s foster parents were “evil Satan
worshipers” and “pedophiles” (Sommer, 2020). Police
attempted to arrest Abcug before the abduction could
be carried out, but Abcug absconded with another
armed QAnon member. These two individuals hid in
hotels paid for by McConnell, but Abcug was eventually
captured and charged.
At trial, Abcug was convicted on all charges. She was
sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of supervised
probation (Associated Press, 2022b). That sanction was
a lighter sentence than the judge thought appropriate,
but the judge accepted the proposed sentence to
avoid the possibility of a quicker release without strict
supervision conditions (Slevin, 2022). The judge
concluded Abcug showed no remorse. The judge also
did not find Abcug’s testimony credible. The judge
warned that because Abcug continues to see herself as
a victim, she could pose a danger again in the future.
The judge also observed, and noted for the record, that
Abcug’s son has been free of all medical issues since
being taken away from Abcug in 2019 (Associated
Press, 2022b). Abcug currently is studying for a law
degree (Associated Press, 2022b), and is appealing her
case.
3. Neely Petrie-Blanchard
Like the other cases described above, Neely Petrie-
Blanchard had lost custody of her children. These child
seizures included both her eldest daughter in 2013
(whom she was convicted of kidnapping), and several
years later her two twin daughters (Wells, &Scheck,
2021). Desperate to get her children back, Petrie-
Blanchard spent many hours on Facebook searching
for ideas. She eventually landed upon the account of
Hallett, a founding member of E~Clause (Hyland,
2021). The two began working together and developed
a close relationship. They shared similar beliefs, namely
that CPS was trafficking children.
Over time, Petrie-Blanchard came to rely on Hallett.