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Christian father says Sweden ‘kidnapped’ his children, branded family ‘religious extremists’
A Christian father in Europe says his family’s life has been “destroyed” after Swedish authorities took his two daughters over three years ago following a false abuse allegation.
Daniel and Bianca Samson have been fighting to regain custody of their daughters, Sara and Tiana, who were 11 and 10 years old when they were seized by Sweden’s social services and placed in foster care in December 2022.
Daniel Samson told Fox News Digital that the girls were taken after Sara made an abuse allegation at school after an argument over her parents’ refusal to let her wear makeup or have a cell phone.
“They literally kidnapped the girls from school,” he said.
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Even after Sara reportedly retracted the statement and police dropped the investigation after finding no evidence of abuse, the government agency refused to return the girls.
Samson alleged that authorities then shifted their focus to the family’s Christian faith.
“As soon as you mention God, as soon as you try to leave following Christian values, you have a target on your back. And once they take your children back, they will never let go,” he said.
In court, Samson said officials labeled the parents “religious extremists” to justify their separation. He said lawyers used their parenting choices against them, such as the girls not being allowed to paint their nails, the lack of a television in the home, and the reading of Bible stories, which he said authorities called “violent.”
The family, originally from Romania, had unsuccessfully petitioned to have the girls moved to Romanian foster care to keep the family unit closer together. Since being placed in state care, Samson said his daughters’ physical and mental health have deteriorated.
Samson shared videos with Fox News Digital of his daughters pleading to be reunited with their family and of his eldest daughter describing her suicide attempts while in state care. He also alleged the girls had been given antidepressants against their will and that Sara witnessed a sexual assault while in a state-run facility.
In Samson’s view, the legal system favors social services as “the experts” and parents have little recourse in custody cases. He claimed the agency wins the vast majority of cases in Sweden, making it nearly impossible for families to find legal representation willing to challenge the state.
One 2017 study of Swedish administrative court verdicts found that when social services petitioned for compulsory care based on allegations of violence, the court granted the request 90% of the time and 78% approval in all other cases.
Despite receiving positive feedback from state-mandated parenting courses, Samson said the agency told the court they had “not the smallest single good thing” to say about the family to justify returning the children.
Over the past three years, Samson says their family has lost 14 times in court.
In March, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled their case “inadmissible,” a final decision that cannot be appealed. The decision came after he said authorities cut off all in-person visits in December and all video contact last month.
Samson said authorities have also expressed intentions to change the girls’ names, a move he fears is a precursor to adoption.
“They told me, ‘You give false hope to your children because you tell them they’re coming home, and we have no intention of giving them back,'” Samson said. “I told them, I’m their parent, and I’ll never stop fighting for them.”
He has been outspoken about his family’s case on social media and alleges their story is not unique but part of a systemic problem in Sweden.
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“In Sweden, we have written to all the members of the parliament, to all the institutions that could do something to all the media outlets, televisions, newspapers, radios,” Samson said. “This has been done multiple times with ample evidence and nobody talks about it because everybody is afraid that [their] child could be next.”
Sweden’s social services told Fox News Digital it could not comment on individual cases.
Sweden’s government has previously pushed back against claims that it “kidnaps” children or targets religious families, labeling such accusations part of a “disinformation campaign.”
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs stated in November 2022 that a decision to remove a child is “always based on a significant risk of harm to the child’s health or development.” Officials maintain that the goal is to reunite children with parents once care is completed, provided it is in the child’s best interest.
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Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall also disputed “kidnapping” claims in a February 6, 2023, press release calling for stronger penalties against those who threaten or insult public officials.
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare also denies that religion is a basis for removal, stating that cases are based solely on the child’s safety and development.
“No, religion is no basis for a child being placed in care. A decision to take a child away from their parents or guardians must always be based on there being a significant risk of harm to the child’s health or development. It can either be the situation in the family home or the child’s or young person’s own behavior that may be deemed harmful or dangerous,” the government agency says.
There’s a lot out there that can really be disturbing. A friend calls with some scary medical news; I start wondering about my own health. I check the stock market and become obsessed about money — will we ever have enough for retirement? I read a news story and see only suffering in the world. My whole sense of well-being gets out of whack.
What I need to remind myself — what is right there in the celebration of Easter — “Give it some time. Give it three days.” Change is happening. Good things can come after complete horror. Give it three days.
Let me circle back to an old story, surely apocryphal, but sweet and helpful.
A woman goes to church on Easter Monday and as she leaves, she pauses to chat with a disheveled woman sitting on the steps selling corsages and boutonnieres — a meager means of making a living. And yet, despite her appearance, the old lady is full of smiles.
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“How is that even possible?” the woman coming out of the church wonders. She stops and talks with the lady.
No denying it. The flower seller has suffered. She reveals that. But Easter has just happened. What comfort there is in that. The pain and horror of Good Friday were turned into the power and mystery of the Resurrection. The magic of three days. “Whatever has happened to you,” she says, “just wait three days.”
As has often been pointed out, it’s the women in the Bible who witnessed the horror first-hand; Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, Mary the mother of Jesus, other women. It depends on which gospel account you’re reading. None of Jesus’s disciples are depicted as witnessing the crucifixion. It’s the women who stick it out, as awful as it must have been.
AT CHRISTMAS, GOD FULFILLS HIS PURPOSE — AND GIVES US OURS
But then, who are the first ones to witness the empty tomb, as they go there on the first day of the week, bringing spices to anoint the body, and find that the huge stone guarding it has been rolled away? It’s the women. An angel tells them that Jesus was raised from the dead. They were supposed to go tell the men. As the Gospel of Mark puts it, “They went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them…”
(In the Gospel of John’s account, Mary Magdalene, sitting there weeping, actually sees the risen Jesus, but doesn’t recognize him until he says her name, “Mary.” Wow, isn’t that powerful? We know who Jesus is when he calls us by name.)
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Every year our church does a three-hour service on Good Friday. Ugh. I go and hear the gospel story. Sometimes fellow parishioners act out the passion story. It is all so sad. Must we retell it, re-live it, year after year?
And yet, in all of this, there is a helpful lesson. Yes, we do go through pain. We do witness terrible suffering. It’s important not to run away from it and hide. Recognize it. Take it in. Deal with it. See if and what it might be teaching you. As the wonderful priest and teacher Richard Rohr puts it, we learn from two things: love and suffering.
Note to self: Be aware of your own suffering and the world’s suffering. For there is something profound on the other side. You will see truth in all its wonder and beauty. What do you have to do? Just wait. Go for a walk. Sit in quiet meditation. Put away the phone for a while. Talk to a caring friend. Pick up a book. Put it down. Whatever. Wait a few days.
Wait three days. No telling what you will see.
There is an old joke that scientists switched from lab rats to lawyers because you do not get as attached to lawyers. President Donald Trump has shown the same tendency to avoid becoming attached to either private or government counsel. Attorney General Pam Bondi is only the latest in a long line of lawyers let go by a president who was made famous with the tagline “You’re fired.”
There is no evidence of bad blood between President Trump and Bondi. The attorney general has been attacked over her loyalty to the president and has been by his side in some of the most precarious moments, from impeachment to criminal defense. As his “apprentices” learned, this is not personal. It’s business.
Jeff Sessions. Rex Tillerson. Bill Barr. Mark Esper. Kristi Noem. Trump’s Cabinet picks are known more for shelving than storage.
Indeed, being a cabinet member in a Trump administration is about as secure as being a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
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Trump has always viewed terminations as a way to spur higher performance levels.
There is a reason why Trump may have wanted to move now in swapping out attorneys general. There are growing predictions that the Democrats will lose the House and could now lose the Senate.
Democrats are running on pledges to unleash a new spasm of investigations and impeachments, targeting not just President Trump but anyone who supports him.
BONDI HEARING DEVOLVES INTO CHAOS OF SHOUTS AS AG ACCUSES TOP DEMOCRATS OF ‘THEATRICS’
Figures like Susan Rice, top policy adviser to both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have promised “revenge” against all those who pushed Democrats out of power and warned that “it’s not going to end well for them.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pledged that, as soon as they regain power, they will start throwing Trump people in jail when they retake Congress.
Democratic strategist James Carville previously threatened that “collaborators” may be treated in the same way as they were after World War II.
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Trump’s ability to secure confirmation of a successor will become far more challenging as he approaches the midterm elections.
Trump has to decide who will be the best hand on the wheel in those choppy waters ahead.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has the street cred that Trump values. An accomplished litigator and former prosecutor, Blanche is neither flashy nor gregarious. He is a lethal litigator who can gut you like a trout without breaking a sweat. He has been at the president’s side in and out of court. While he will be a lightning rod for Democrats who have attacked him for his role in the release of the Epstein files, his firmness in dealing with a hostile media likely appealed to the president.
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Blanche offers a seamless transition for the department. He literally only has to walk down the hallway to take the reins from Bondi.
Another name reportedly under consideration is EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who would likely be the easiest to confirm and the most popular with members of Congress. Zeldin transformed the EPA in short order, including clearing away barriers to increasing energy production. Almost elected governor of New York, Zeldin has cross-over appeal in Washington as someone who cut his teeth in this town.
Other candidates include state attorneys general, as well as wild cards like U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a former judge with a tough-as-nails reputation in Washington, D.C. It is a deep bench.
There will be no shortage of applicants for the job. The office of the attorney general in the Trump administration has everything that one could want in Washington. Everything, that is, except job security.
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2. Acting AG addresses reports Pam Bondi ousted over botched Epstein files
3. Iran gives chilling retaliation warning after US airstrikes collapse key bridge
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‘SIT THIS ONE OUT’ — Kamala Harris’ latest attempt to criticize President Trump sends internet into a frenzy. Continue reading …
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MAD SCIENCE — NIH accused of defying President Trump by funding transgender mice research. Continue reading …
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LEGAL SHOWDOWN — Top Democrats sue President Trump over executive order targeting mail-in voting. Continue reading …
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NEW TARGET — RFK Jr. releases national microplastics mission. See video …
TOM HOMAN — Airports are critical infrastructure — it’s necessary for ICE to step in. See video …
GREG BOVINO — The asylum policy under Biden was a scam. See video …
Tune in as we explore Good Friday traditions and the surprising rise in religious interest among younger Americans. Check it out …
What’s it looking like in your neighborhood? Continue reading…
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