Eight children were nearly removed from their parents after an anti-Christian group filed false reports to Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF).
The parents, J.D. and Britney Lott, homeschool their children while traveling across the country. They are known on Instagram as “AmericanFamilyRoadTrip.”
The Lotts told Reason they were leaving a Florida campground on their way to Georgia when they received a text message from the DCF reading, “Please respond we need to follow up and verify the children are safe. If we cannot complete this we will have to see an Order To Take Into Custody which is enforceable nationwide. Please work with us so we do not have to do that. Thank you.”
The message came in response to claims by an anti-Christian Reddit group, FundieSnarkUncensored. The group claimed the Lotts’ children were abused, with the youngest child, a baby, suffering from a “severe sunburn” and jaundice.
J.D. told the case worker, “We have a group of people on Reddit that we’ve discovered are dedicated to defaming us.”
A DCF worker reached out again to the family, demanding that they have a meeting. “We have you in our system, and you have to report by the close of day,” the DFC supervisor, said. “And if you don’t tell me when you are going to meet with me, we’re going to consider you on the run.”
The family then contacted the Family Freedom Project (FFP), a group that aids families wrongly accused of child abuse. The organization advised the parents to have their children evaluated by a doctor to prove they were unharmed.
After the medical evaluation, the Lotts were informed their children would not be taken away.
The Lotts seek to expose the weaponization of child services.
“The government has such loose standards that they let people weaponize them,” J.D. told Reason. “There needs to be some moderating force.”
Bryan Griffin, communications director for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R) office, told The Daily Wire that the family’s harassment will be investigated by the state.
“Utilizing government entities to make false reports or harass others is unacceptable and will be referred to law enforcement for investigation and ultimately prosecution, Griffin said.
