International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 6 2023 142
arrest are unclear. Meyer distanced himself from her
case after the arrest, presumably to avoid legal trouble
(Martin, 2022). Stanley then pled guilty, and was
sentenced to time served, three years of probation, and
was fined about $9,000 (Scir Reeve, 2022). The custody
details of Stanley’s case are currently unknown.
2. Samantha Ricks
Samantha Ricks, from Oklahoma, is a mother with two
children. For the past few years, her family has been
concerned about her. She struggled with paranoia after
separating from the children’s father (Gilbert, 2022b).
Ricks believed that neighbors were plotting to steal
her children. Then in October 2021, Ricks became
actively involved in the QAnon splinter cult known as
“Negative 48.” The group believed (and continues to
believe) that John F. Kennedy will reappear at Dealey
Plaza as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (Gilbert,
2022a). President Kennedy was the 35th President of
the United States and was assassinated on November
22, 1963. Between October 2021 and December 2021,
Ricks and her two young children spent time with the
cult. They lived in hotels with other cult members who
were using drugs and engaging in bizarre activities,
including drinking bleach-based cocktails from a
communal bowl (Rohrlich, 2021).
Things continued to go downhill. Ricks had a falling-
out with members of the cult and was using drugs and
alcohol. CPS also accused her of exposing her children
to “inappropriate sexual behavior,” stemming from her
attempts to breastfeed the children, who were then five
and six years old. The agency removed the children
from Ricks’s care and placed them into foster care
(Gilbert, 2022b 2023 Karma, 2022).
After her children were removed, Ricks frantically tried
to get them back. She accused CPS of being child sex
traffickers. Ricks started a crowdfunding campaign
called “Help Rescue My Children Kidnapped by
Traffickers” (Gilbert, 2022b) that raised at least $2,090
from 13 donors (ADL Crowdfunding Report, 2023).
She also contacted Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, who
had assisted other mothers in similar predicaments.
Reports indicate that Ricks had been communicating
with Meyer for at least a month, and he assisted her in
devising a plot to kidnap her children (Gilbert, 2022b).
In August 2022, Ricks and Elijah Erlebach, a known
sovereign citizen, went to the foster care home where
one of Rick’s two children lived, and forcibly seized the
child. Ricks’s daughter was riding her bike at the time.
According to court records, Ricks, in a vehicle driven
by Erlebach, approached and grabbed her daughter,
who was thrown into the blue truck. Ricks and
Erlebach first drove off, but then circled back around
the neighborhood, planning to come back for Ricks’s
other male child (Weaver, 2022). However, the foster
father had called the police, and within 25 minutes, law
enforcement pulled over the kidnappers’ vehicle, which
had an “American National” license plate. Erlebach
presented a sovereign citizen ID, would not roll down
his window, and refused to exit his vehicle. The police
eventually removed Erlebach from his vehicle, and
located Ricks in the back seat with the abducted female
child. The police searched the vehicle and found
multiple weapons including a knife, and two guns: a
1911-style pistol, and an AR-15 assault rifle, which “had
full magazines and were chamber loaded,” according to
the affidavit (Weaver, 2022). Both Erlebach and Ricks
were arrested. The status of the subsequent criminal
prosecution is currently unknown.
3. France Kidnapping
A similar style of kidnapping took place in France
in April 2021. Lola Montemaggi lost custody of her
8-year-old child, Mia, to Mia’s grandmother. The
French government deemed Montemaggi unstable.
Prosecutors characterized her as a lost mother who felt
that the justice system was not listening to her (Ataman,
&John, 2022). In response, Montemaggi sought refuge
online where she became increasingly convinced
by conspiracy theorists that a pedophile network,
operating in conjunction with the government,
placed her daughter in danger. Montemaggi was also
a member of One Nation, a group headed by Alice
Pazalmar which subscribes to sovereign citizen and
new age philosophies (Sarteschi, 2022b).
Montemaggi was advised to reach out to Rémy Daillet-
Weidemann, a conspiracy theorist, under watch by
the government for his plans to overthrow the French
government. Daillet-Weidemann was known to
promote the idea that “action should be taken to return
children [in care] ...to their parents” (Ataman, &John,
arrest are unclear. Meyer distanced himself from her
case after the arrest, presumably to avoid legal trouble
(Martin, 2022). Stanley then pled guilty, and was
sentenced to time served, three years of probation, and
was fined about $9,000 (Scir Reeve, 2022). The custody
details of Stanley’s case are currently unknown.
2. Samantha Ricks
Samantha Ricks, from Oklahoma, is a mother with two
children. For the past few years, her family has been
concerned about her. She struggled with paranoia after
separating from the children’s father (Gilbert, 2022b).
Ricks believed that neighbors were plotting to steal
her children. Then in October 2021, Ricks became
actively involved in the QAnon splinter cult known as
“Negative 48.” The group believed (and continues to
believe) that John F. Kennedy will reappear at Dealey
Plaza as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (Gilbert,
2022a). President Kennedy was the 35th President of
the United States and was assassinated on November
22, 1963. Between October 2021 and December 2021,
Ricks and her two young children spent time with the
cult. They lived in hotels with other cult members who
were using drugs and engaging in bizarre activities,
including drinking bleach-based cocktails from a
communal bowl (Rohrlich, 2021).
Things continued to go downhill. Ricks had a falling-
out with members of the cult and was using drugs and
alcohol. CPS also accused her of exposing her children
to “inappropriate sexual behavior,” stemming from her
attempts to breastfeed the children, who were then five
and six years old. The agency removed the children
from Ricks’s care and placed them into foster care
(Gilbert, 2022b 2023 Karma, 2022).
After her children were removed, Ricks frantically tried
to get them back. She accused CPS of being child sex
traffickers. Ricks started a crowdfunding campaign
called “Help Rescue My Children Kidnapped by
Traffickers” (Gilbert, 2022b) that raised at least $2,090
from 13 donors (ADL Crowdfunding Report, 2023).
She also contacted Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, who
had assisted other mothers in similar predicaments.
Reports indicate that Ricks had been communicating
with Meyer for at least a month, and he assisted her in
devising a plot to kidnap her children (Gilbert, 2022b).
In August 2022, Ricks and Elijah Erlebach, a known
sovereign citizen, went to the foster care home where
one of Rick’s two children lived, and forcibly seized the
child. Ricks’s daughter was riding her bike at the time.
According to court records, Ricks, in a vehicle driven
by Erlebach, approached and grabbed her daughter,
who was thrown into the blue truck. Ricks and
Erlebach first drove off, but then circled back around
the neighborhood, planning to come back for Ricks’s
other male child (Weaver, 2022). However, the foster
father had called the police, and within 25 minutes, law
enforcement pulled over the kidnappers’ vehicle, which
had an “American National” license plate. Erlebach
presented a sovereign citizen ID, would not roll down
his window, and refused to exit his vehicle. The police
eventually removed Erlebach from his vehicle, and
located Ricks in the back seat with the abducted female
child. The police searched the vehicle and found
multiple weapons including a knife, and two guns: a
1911-style pistol, and an AR-15 assault rifle, which “had
full magazines and were chamber loaded,” according to
the affidavit (Weaver, 2022). Both Erlebach and Ricks
were arrested. The status of the subsequent criminal
prosecution is currently unknown.
3. France Kidnapping
A similar style of kidnapping took place in France
in April 2021. Lola Montemaggi lost custody of her
8-year-old child, Mia, to Mia’s grandmother. The
French government deemed Montemaggi unstable.
Prosecutors characterized her as a lost mother who felt
that the justice system was not listening to her (Ataman,
&John, 2022). In response, Montemaggi sought refuge
online where she became increasingly convinced
by conspiracy theorists that a pedophile network,
operating in conjunction with the government,
placed her daughter in danger. Montemaggi was also
a member of One Nation, a group headed by Alice
Pazalmar which subscribes to sovereign citizen and
new age philosophies (Sarteschi, 2022b).
Montemaggi was advised to reach out to Rémy Daillet-
Weidemann, a conspiracy theorist, under watch by
the government for his plans to overthrow the French
government. Daillet-Weidemann was known to
promote the idea that “action should be taken to return
children [in care] ...to their parents” (Ataman, &John,
