An Anti-Christian Reddit Group Falsely Reported A Family To Child Services. DeSantis Says Florida Won’t Stand For It.

A Christian family camping in Florida was the target of false reports of child abuse, and now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the accusers will be investigated.

JD and Britney Lott, two military veterans from Texas, and their eight kids were camping and posting to their social media following of more than 600,000 when they were contacted by Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF). The family explained the situation in a two–part Instagram series and included screenshots of the messages they received.

Their story began just a few weeks after Britney gave birth to their eighth daughter, Florida’s Voice reported. Britney told the outlet she received a message online claiming her child was suffering from “severe jaundice, severe sunburn, and lethargy.” Britney deleted the message and blocked the sender.

But, according to the family’s Instagram post, this “wasn’t just one person.”

“Turns out it’s an entire group of anti-Christian group – working together – on Reddit who concocted this crazy story about us,” the Lotts said.

A top official in the Florida governor’s office told The Daily Wire that the targeted harassment is “unacceptable,” and will be pursued 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,” Bryan Griffin, communications director for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, told The Daily Wire.

At the end of April, the family had just left Florida after camping at the Topsail Hill Preserve State Park when they received a message from the DCF saying they were under investigation. The Lotts knew immediately where the allegations had come from: An anti-Christian Reddit group that had been targeting the family for years. The group had ramped up its accusations against the Lotts since their youngest child was born, with a “revolving door” of false accusations.

“The level of infatuation required to research the various diseases and disorders our new baby might have is concerning. Does he have to have a serious health issue for them to feel justified? At what point do we admit it’s not about his health but their desire to harm us?” the Lotts said on Instagram.

The Lotts said they believed a member of the Reddit group had figured out where they were staying and had called in the false report.

The Reddit group, FundieSnarkUncensored, has more than 200,000 members and describes itself as a group dedicated to criticizing “fundamentalist Christianity and extreme Christian views.”

In now-deleted screenshots provided to The Daily Wire, the group posts photos of screenshots from the family’s social media posts and claims they show child abuse. In one photo of the couple’s newborn baby, members of the Reddit group claim the newborn “has such a severely burnt face from being AT THE BEACH with no sun protection,” without any proof other than the photo of the newborn with a slightly red face.

Another screenshot, taken days before the family was reported, showed a user saying they had “identified their current location and I’m reporting to FL abuse hotline,” with other members cheering their decision.

Screenshot via Family Freedom Project

A post from a month earlier showed members discussing how to report the family, including finding their location and saying that “a few” members had already reported the family. Numerous screenshots show members asking where the family is so they can be reported.

Screenshot via Family Freedom Project

When DCF contacted the family, it quoted verbatim a comment on one of the family’s photos as the basis for its investigation, even using the same terms of “jaundice, lethargy, and sunburn,” according to a synopsis of the case from the Family Freedom Project (FFP), which is assisting the Lotts.

DCF contacted the family on April 30 – just after they left Florida – and demanded a welfare check on the children, otherwise they would “seek an Order To Take Into Custody which is enforceable nationwide.”

Screenshot via Family Freedom Project

JD spoke to the caseworker, according to FFP, and requested time to find an attorney. The caseworker allegedly told the father that if the children were not available for inspection by the end of the day, they would be removed from the family. The family contacted the Texas Home School Coalition and FFP, which found them an attorney who arranged for the children to go to a Georgia urgent care facility so that a doctor could inspect the children. That doctor, along with a Georgia police officer, found no issues with the children and reported back to DCF while also reportedly expressing indignation at the spurious allegation that had been treated as dire by DCF.

DCF then informed the family that it had closed the case against them.

Members of the Reddit group still discuss filing reports with children’s services and continue to post photos of the couple’s baby, claiming something is wrong.

The family’s attorney, Lynn Salvatore, told Florida’s Voice that situations like these are “not uncommon.”

“What amazes me is that the amount of time and energy that these people on Reddit spend to target this family and other families is mind boggling. If they could just channel that energy for something that is productive, it would be amazing, the world would be a better place,” Salvatore told the outlet.

JD told the outlet that it was “sickening” that a group would make a “coordinated effort to harm our family by swatting us using the government.”

“The question is, are we actually free? Are we, as Americans, free because if we can’t say online that ‘I believe in the Lord and I believe in Jesus Christ,’ then am I free? I would say no, if I can’t say that without my children being taken, that’s not a free country anymore,” Britney added.

Florida’s DCF told The Daily Wire that it “is required to investigate all allegations of abuse, neglect, or abandonment to ensure the safety of children. Under section 39.202 of the Florida Statutes, any information about these investigations is strictly confidential, ensuring the privacy and safety of all involved.”

“False reports are reported to law enforcement for criminal investigation and prosecution. Filing a false report is a felony with legal consequences, as outlined in 39.205, F.S., and is also a drain on Department resources dedicated to protecting children from abuse and exploitation,” it added.

The DCF confirmed to The Daily Wire that the department referred the false reports to law enforcement and that law enforcement is investigating.