FBI Raids Catholic Family After 15 Year Old Posts "Offensive" Memes In Group Chat

Are we truly safe in the eyes of the law or do we fall prey to overreaching authorities? This episode brings to light a gripping narrative of a humble Christian family whose lives were turned upside down over a teenage boy's involvement in a private group chat. Aggressive FBI investigations, home raids, and exorbitant legal fees pushed this working-class family into a financial abyss. As we examine this trend of disproportionately targeting traditionalist Catholics, we call attention to the pressing need for vigilance in these uncertain times.

Shifting our focus to social media platforms, we uncover Instagram's ominous algorithm that seems to inadvertently promote harmful content to adults following young influencers. We explore the unsettling findings of The Wall Street Journal's investigation, revealing a covert network of predators on Instagram. As we connect the dots between Instagram's disturbing content promotion and the FBI's surveillance on traditionalist Catholics, we urge listeners to safeguard their children from these perils. Together, let's stand by families such as the Rufini's, who faced unimaginable hardships under the FBI's scrutiny. Remember, awareness and unity are the torches we can carry to light the path away from such unspeakable tragedies.

You can support this family here: https://www.givesendgo.com/rufinifamily

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Hello everybody, welcome to the Parallel Christian Society podcast. My name is Andrew Torba. I'm the CEO of gabcom and your host. I have an absolutely unbelievable story for you today and I couldn't wait to get this recorded because this is such an important story. I read this story about this family who has this 15 year old boy who got into this private group chat and then they were rated by the FBI and we're going to get into this. I'm going to read their story. They put up a give send go link and I have talked to someone who has been in touch with the father, has confirmed that this is going on, has seen the bail bond receipts and all of that.

Speaker 1: 1:01

And I read this and I couldn't believe it. At first it was almost one of those things like is this really happening in the United States of America? And unfortunately, we're seeing this pop up more and more, and it's crazy to think that this is happening in our country, but unfortunately, this is where we're at, this is where working class Christian families. This is what we're facing, and so we need to be aware of this type of stuff and that's why I want to bring attention to it in this episode. And so let me. Just read the story and then we could talk about it after. So this is at gifsengocom forward slash R-U-F-I-N-I family. So the Rafimi family. Maybe I'm spelling that wrong, maybe I'm saying that wrong. Forgive me if I am, but let's dive into the story so that it's again. It's almost too unbelievable to be true. So I'll start. Our family has unexpectedly incurred very substantial for us legal expenses as the result of an aggressive investigation against our 15 year old son for posting offensive memes in a private group chat. While the investigation resulted in juvenile probation and a minor misdemeanor conviction for breach of peace, our home was raided by the FBI and we were forced to come up with thousands of dollars in non-refundable bail money and legal fees. We're a working class family that lives paycheck to paycheck and bankruptcy is a near certainty. It will be a struggle to keep our home without help.

Speaker 1: 2:37

Our difficulties began in early 2023. Our 15 year old was homeschooled and working in the office of my father's family business during the day when my father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In addition to running a business, my father was responsible for the full time care of my 93 year old grandmother, who lived in an in law apartment at his home. My father very abruptly became too ill from chemotherapy to work full time or care for my grandmother, and a large portion of the responsibility for this fell on my son, until I can get home from work every day. It was a very stressful time, compounded by several unrelated deaths in the family that happened in the same time period.

Speaker 1: 3:15

None of our children, including my son, had been raised with cell phones or unrestricted internet access. It became necessary for him to have a phone so he could communicate while he was alone at my father's house caring for my grandmother, and so we reluctantly allowed him to have a cell phone. He spent a lot of time alone with nothing to do but wait and think, and the cell phone became a welcome distraction. His interest in history and theology led him down a rabbit hole where he was recruited into group chats targeting teenage traditionalist Catholics with extreme political content. We later learned that these chats were being closely monitored and possibly operated by FBI agents as part of an ongoing effort to investigate traditional Catholics that was downstream of a broader domestic investigation spurred by the events of January 6th. My son is very stoic, so we had no idea any of this was occurring. He dutifully assisted my father during the day and went home in the evening while I took over my father's house. Unbeknownst to us, he was being drawn deeper and deeper into these chats and go to into doing things like taking pictures of himself in public wearing ski masks and to print out memes and leave them on picnic tables. They would ask him if he had access to guns. He would go to target shooting under the supervision of my brother, who lived in the in-law apartment at our home and owned firearms Then encourage him to sneak photographs of the guns and post them. Ironically, our legal troubles began when he had an attack of conscience and abruptly deleted all of his chat apps. He later told us that he felt using social media was a coping mechanism and it had been affecting his mood and ability to sleep.

Speaker 1: 4:56

The FBI panicked and made the assumption that he must have connected to a terror cell in real life and gone dark ahead of some potential violent act. There was no such plan and they had no evidence of one, but it didn't stop them from spending two weeks fabricating illegal pretence for a search warrant for our home. At 10pm on a Sunday evening, we were dragged out of our home at gunpoint, handcuffed and locked in a van while they searched our home for evidence of this imagined plot. Having found no such evidence, they seized my brother's firearms and had my son hospitalized on mental health pretenses. We didn't learn until that night the scope of the investigation or the amount of time and resources expended on my son. We know him to be kind and conscientious and a boy who is active in his community and church. He is a volunteer firefighter and an altar boy. He said some things that we aren't very happy with and showed a severe lack of judgment in his associations, but the response seemed disproportionate. It soon became clear that there was no grants, conspiracy or imminent danger, and the FBI lost interest. But we have admired in the aftermath ever since.

Speaker 1: 6:04

There was a DCF investigation that went nowhere but required us to go to daily appointments for months. The state brought criminal charges against my son that were eventually disposed of but required a legal battle that lasted months. When his charges were disposed of, my brother and I were charged for allowing my son to target shoot based on the assumption that we must have somehow known he was involved in political extremism online. It seems unlikely to amount to much, but it has cost us over $20,000 that we do not have. So far, I have been reluctant to seek help, but the threat of losing our home has become very real. I work with the homeless for a faith-based nonprofit organization and my brother manages a family-owned butcher shop. My wife stays at home in homeschools our younger children while managing a small homestead. We are paying legal bills by not paying other bills. Our credit is extended as far as it can go so our kids can have Christmas. The mortgage is a few weeks behind and we have zero breathing room for any unexpected expenses. At this point, our son is racked with guilt and believes himself to be a fall for our dire financial straits. While it is very humbling for me, as someone who has always provided for others, to ask for help, I notice some time necessary, and that time has come. This is their gifts and go.

Speaker 1: 7:19

This story is just absolutely incredible. Here you have a 15-year-old boy. He is homeschooled and comes from a very traditional, very Christian family and up until this point in his life, has never even had a cell phone. They had some issues going on, some health issues within their family and some struggles, as we all do, and so he got into some of these group chats and it turns out that these group chats were either run by or were certainly infiltrated by the FBI, and we've seen this story time and time and again and it's really unfortunate. It's absolutely crazy to think that this is where the resources of the FBI are going, targeting 15 year old kids that are Christians who believe in traditional family values, and really financially crippling a working class family.

Speaker 1: 8:16

Now, praise God, I was able to get this link out there and through some of my networks, we were able to get the word out about this and again, that's why I'm doing this episode on this right now is because I wanna help this family out and they were able to meet their goal. But if you wanna help them out, you can go to givesengocom forward slash R-U-F-I-N-I-F-A-M-I-L-Y. So that's the link and you could read the full story there, and if you wanna make a donation to help them out, you can. They did reach their goal, but I wanna bless this family for everything that they've been through and help them out. These stories are starting to pop up and this is really a testament to how, as parents, we really need to be discerning and we need to be on top of what our children are doing online. This is why we need to understand what apps our children are using and frankly and I say this as someone who runs a social network I don't think that children under the age of 18 should be on social media. I do not think it is a place for them. I think that there are too many people that wanna entrap them and wanna indoctrinate them into their worldview, and we need to make sure that we are laying the bedrock, as their parents especially as Christians in a biblical worldview and protecting them. There's another story that is related to this in a different way and in terms of protecting our kids online.

Speaker 1: 9:57

The Wall Street Journal had a story on Instagram. Instagram's algorithm delivers toxic video mix to adults who fall out children. So Instagram's real service is designed to show users streams of short videos on topics the systems decides will interest them, such as sports, fashion or humor. The made-up platforms owned social app does the same thing for users. Its algorithm decides might have a period interest in children. Testing by the Wall Street Journal confirmed. The journal sought to determine what Instagram's reels algorithm would recommend to test accounts it set up following only young gymnasts, cheerleaders and other team and pre-team influencers active on the platform. So Instagram's algorithm is designed to show you more of the stuff that you're following, and so if you're an adult that is a predator and is following a bunch of young gymnasts and cheerleaders and pre-team influencers on the platform, their algorithm is going to recommend more of that to you. And this is related to another article that was published by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that showed that there was a vast pedophile network on Instagram.

Speaker 1: 11:14

The main the main units, systems for fostering communities have guided users to child sex content. Company says it is improving the controls, and so Instagram is. It appears to be a haven for predators, and so your children should not be on that platform. Their algorithm is designed to literally push this type of content to these people, and some of that content could be content of your children. And we have to be diligent, we have to be discerning, we have to be smart. We cannot allow our kids to enter into the den of vipers Excuse me, I still have a little bit of a cold and so we cannot allow our kids into the den of vipers. We have to protect them and we have to get the word out about teaching our kids how to use these platforms If they're going to use them. If you're going to allow it, then you need to monitor it closely and you need to take the time to teach them to avoid these type of situations. And it's unfortunate, but that's just the reality of the situation, and so I remember.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Earlier this year there was a story Let me see if I can find it real quick about the FBI spying on traditionalist Catholics. Here we go. Ok, give me one second, let me pull it up here. So the FBI mounted spying operations on traditionalist Catholic churchgoers across the whole United States. According to new evidence obtained by politicians, the FBI was, in February, accused of secretly gathering evidence which might link Catholics in the Richmond area of Virginia to the far right nationalist movement. At least one agent was sent out to spy on Catholics who were worshiping at churches and chapels in the area. A US government committee was told.

Speaker 1: 13:12

New revelations by the US House judiciary community on Wednesday have revealed, however, that the espionage against Catholics was far broader, also encompassing the activities of agents in the West Coast states of Oregon and California. At the very least, there were multiple field offices of the FBI coordinating an investigation into traditionalist Catholics, according to the committee. In a press release, the judiciary committee said that the information recently produced to the committee has demonstrated that the FBI relied on information from around the country to develop its assessment that some Catholics could become terrorists. The committee said that the new information originated from the FBI officials based in Portland and in Los Angeles. Jim Jordan representative Jim Jordan, who chairs the House subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, said the latest evidence debunks the claim by FBI director Christopher Ray that the first leaked memo represented a single product by a single field office.

Speaker 1: 14:11

Leaks revealed that the FBI focused in particular on Catholics who were interested in traditional Latin mass as the group within the church allegedly the most likely to be sympathetic to violent extremist activities. Documents show, however, that the FBI planned not only to infiltrate irregular traditionalist organizations like the Society of St Pius X, but also the mainstream church. Agents were also planning to engage in outrage to mainline Catholic parishes and leadership. At the time of the leak, bishop Barry Kinesit out of Richmond responded by criticizing the FBI for spying on Catholics. People of all faith groups have long found refuge in the constitutional protections of our great nation, he said. We all seek to share in God's gift of life, enjoy the fruits of liberty that our nation offers and assist one another in ensuring the common good.

Speaker 1: 15:03

The FBI operation was defended, however, by Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a Catholic who was Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 presidential election. Senator Kaine said the purpose of the investigation was to find violent extremists who were targeting radical traditionalist Catholics in an effort to recruit them. We've done the same thing for years, working in tandem with Moss, because there have been groups that have been tried to target or radicalize, especially young people. So this is incredible. You know America, a Christian nation, and we have the federal government, the FBI, targeting teenage boys that are Catholic, that are in group chats, posting memes. It's almost unbelievable. But you look at stuff like Douglas Mackey's case and this stuff is happening. You look at stuff like the January 6th, the people that are still sitting in prison. You know, going on two years, three years now, three years unbelievable. You know the Douglas Mackey case in particular he sentenced to seven months for posting a meme on Twitter and making fun of Hillary Clinton voters. So you know this stuff is happening.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Guys, we need to be diligent, we need to keep an eye on our kids and when this stuff is happening, we need to shine a light on it and support the families that are going through this and talk about it, because if we don't, you know the mainstream press isn't going to pick up on this. You know they're not going to help these people, and so we need to rally around these families and get stories like this out there and support these people. So I would encourage you to pray for this family and to support them, if you can, at the GiveSendGo link givesendgocom forward slash R-U-F-I-N-I-F-A-M-I-L-Y. They have already reached their goal, which is fantastic, but I just want to make sure that we bless them and they have a great Christmas season and they can pay off you know the legal fees that they have for dealing with this situation. And please pray for their son too.

Speaker 1: 17:21

You know he's obviously going through a hard time with the stuff going on in his family and you know he got into these group chats and stuff and you know I haven't seen what was posted, you know, but from all intents and purposes, it clearly wasn't anything that was, you know, promoting violence or anything like that. It just seems like they were goading him into posting pictures with guns and whatever else and sort of entrapping him, which you know, we've seen before and you know, when you're 15 years old, you're very, very impressionable, and so it's very easy to be peer pressured by people that are influencing you, and it turns out those people behind the anonymous accounts are actually the FBI. So that's the other warning here, too, is if you're in group chats and stuff, you've got to be very careful what you're saying, because you know whenever you're in a group chat and this is what I do whenever I'm in a group chat, and I very seldom join group chats for this reason because I know that many of them are infiltrated. And so when you're in a group chat, if you're in a group chat, you're going to be very careful. You're infiltrated. And so when you're in a group chat, if you're posting something you should post under the assumption that it is public, that it is, that you're posting on your main timeline and that everybody can see what you're posting.

Speaker 1: 18:42

Because if there's, you know, more than one other person in there, even if there's one person in that group chat one other person right, it's just a one to one DM assume that that information could be leaked at some point in the future, and so you know. That's why it always helps to be authentic and just be yourself, both in your public and private persona. You know there is no difference between those two. If you sort of live that way, it becomes a lot easier. You know to have conversations both in private and in public because the conversations are gonna look the same and so if something gets leaked you have nothing to worry about because you know I'm gonna say the same things in public that I say in private. I'm the same person and so if you're always living authentically, you sort of don't have to worry about leaked group chats or anything like this.

Speaker 1: 19:31

And this happens all the time. You know people's group chats getting leaked and stuff and these group chats are being infiltrated. So just you know let that be a lesson to you. Not just you know as parents looking out for our children, but you know even as adults who may be in some of these group chats, that, like you know what you're saying. Just imagine it's being posted in public. Imagine that. Imagine that there may be an FBI agent in that group chat. Okay, so don't be fed posting in group chats. Don't say something stupid in group chats. That's gonna get you raided by the FBI later on. But anyway, keep this family and your prayers. I just wanted to get that story out there. I cannot believe that this stuff is happening in our country, but it's the reality of the situation and we wanna shine a light on it and we wanna uplift and support this family and get this stuff out there and warn people about it. Thank you guys for tuning in. Remember to speak freely. Christ is King.