Philippine-Born Pretenders Pursue Qanon Global 'Monarchy'

(MENAFN- Asia Times)

Following up a report that the self-crowned“Queen of Canada” is expanding her QAnon-inspired movement into the United States, Asia Times has noticed that Romana Didulo's newly anointed“King of the US” claims to be – like Didula – a Philippines-born immigrant.

“I am a naturalized US citizen from Maharlika,”“His Majesty” King David J Carlson is quoted as saying in an introduction on the group's Telegram social media page. The self-description is quoted on a Reddit page devoted to watching advocates of the“sovereign citizen” movement – under whose principles Didulo has aroused her Canadian“subjects” to stop paying taxes and utility bills.

Maharlika is the name given to a supposed pre-colonial kingdom alleged to have ruled over what are now the Philippines, Brunei, South Borneo, Hawaii, the Spratly Islands and Sabah. Fact-checkers have found no evidence that the purported dynasty of rulers with the family name Tallano ever existed.

Asia Times has also located a Facebook page under Carlson's name (the profile picture is of a child) and another under the name of Sarah Carlson, his wife and purported queen of the US. The Carlsons say they are residents of Phoenix, Arizona.

A real estate development company under the Carlsons' name has advertised that it specializes in dealings with“royal families.”

One of the most recent postings on David Carlson's Facebook page is a Shopify brochure for their“Kingdom of America” organization.

Indications from Facebook are that David Carlson is in his 50s; his wife is in her 30s. They're enthusiastic parents, typically Facebook to that extent. He says he attended Bellingham High School in Bellingham, Washington state, as a member of the class of 1983, and also studied at Arizona State University.

The royal couple are gun enthusiasts devoted to ex-US president Donald Trump. Their pages are bedecked with military symbolism. His Facebook page appears to have been cleansed, quite recently, of politically related content including videos with titles such as“Why the Military is in charge, for good.”

Titles remain, even though the content has been removed, and it appears Carlson in true QAnon fashion is a fan of wild conspiracy theorists unconnected with reality – such as Judy Byington, who reports“news” of events that never happened and“messages” received from the late John F Kennedy Jr, who is long dead but whom QAnon adherents expect to show up alive and run as Trump's 2024 vice presidential sidekick.

David Carlson did not respond to a list of questions Asia Times sent to him via Facebook Messenger. The questions included some asking for his views on QAnon and the“sovereign citizens” movement.

Christine Sarteschi , an associate professor of social work and criminology at Chatham University in Pennsylvania who watches the“Queen” and related movements, had reported earlier for The Conversation that many of the followers are seeing their water and power cut off and facing liens against their homes.

“Didulo is deceiving her followers,” Sarteschi writes.“Her decrees are hurting them. Nothing she suggests is legal or true. Her followers are hurt, but they are not blameless. They are drawn to her because of greed. They want something for nothing. She promises them free money, no bills, no taxes and all they have to do is believe.”

In her latest article , Sarteschi adds that, on the instructions of the“queen”:

In her new article, Sarteschi details some of the moves to expand the Didula empire abroad:

Which brings us back to the Filipino angle. Why are we learning that today's two top world figures are both Philippines-born naturalized North Americans? The reason is unavailable now. We may just have to keep watching Judy Byington until she consults with JFK Jr to find the answer.

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