A Christian family brings the final battle to Washington

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WASHINGTON DC — The Christian parents of two children who were kidnapped by the Swedish government more than three years ago brought their case of child abduction to Washington DC on Friday.

A crowd of Romanian-Americans gathered outside the Swedish Embassy in Washington on Friday morning to show their support for Daniel and Bianca Samson, Christian parents separated from their daughters, Sara and Tiana, since December 2022.

The years-long battle began after Sara, then 11, sued her parents for abuse, stemming from an argument over not being allowed to wear make-up or have a smartphone. Although Sara quickly admitted that she had lied, Swedish social services removed the girls from the home.

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Prosecutors found no evidence of abuse, but the state refused to return the girls, citing the family’s practice of going to church three times a week and the media’s choice as evidence of “religious fanaticism.”

In court, Daniel Samson said the officials called the parents “religious fanatics” to justify their separation. He said the lawyers used their choices to raise children, such as not allowing girls to paint their nails, not having a television at home and reading stories from the Bible, which the authorities called violent.

The case drew international outrage and support from the Romanian government. Romanian Sen. Titus Corlatean and Chicago Rev. Cristian Ionescu traveled to speak at the DC rally, which coincides with similar protests planned this week in Brisbane, Stockholm, London, and Copenhagen.

Daniel and Bianca Samson’s two daughters, Sara and Tiana, were seized by the Swedish government on charges of “religious extremism” after the eldest daughter made a false report at school, which she later retracted, because she was not allowed to wear make-up or have a mobile phone. (Alliance Defending Freedom International)

Ionescu, senior pastor of the Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and president of the Romanian Pentecostal Churches’ Union in the United States, told Fox News Digital that he hopes the same kind of government fraud will not come to the US

“I see an increase in communist politicians and this always goes hand in hand with a totalitarian society,” said Ionescu. “In Romania, they didn’t take children from families, but they tried to educate them in a worldview and a system that was against Christian values, and parents who didn’t cooperate were persecuted.”

“I hope I don’t see this in America,” he continued. “That’s why I left Romania almost 40 years ago. America was the center of true civilization, Christianity. Now it’s changing and it’s not for the better, but I hope we can still participate.”

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Members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a Marxist group, raise their flag at a “No Kings” protest at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., on March 28, 2026. (Derek Shook of Fox News Digital)

In June, the Romanian Senate unanimously approved a declaration that Sweden immediately return the Samson girls to their families. Sen. Corlatean from Romania, who proposed the proposal, said that Sweden ignored their demands.

“There was no reciprocity in this relationship, no positive feedback. It was a simulation of cooperation,” Corlatean told Fox News Digital.

He said the girls were citizens of Romania and accused Sweden of violating bilateral relations and international law.

“They are not citizens of Sweden, so Sweden continues [the girls] by torturing them in their custody against the will of the citizenship status of our citizens,” he added.

The separation was very difficult for the children. Samson said both girls tried to kill themselves six or seven times while in federal custody, and his older daughter has been placed in a mental institution.

“It’s bad, and it’s a very bad situation,” Corlatean added. “The girls ask all the time to be returned to their parents and to Romania, and social workers lie and say that the daughters refuse to return to their parents.”

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Daniel and Bianca Samson with their children at church. (Daniel Samson)

Since going public with their story, Daniel Samson says the Swedish government has completely banned the family from seeing the girls and has expressed a desire to change their names – a move he fears could prevent forced adoption.

In the past three years, Samson said his family has lost 14 times in Swedish courts. In March, the Samsons lost their last bid to be re-arrested, after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that their case was inadmissible.

Corlatean hopes the US will support and show “solidarity” to the Romanian family, citing the “shared Christian values ​​of these two nations.”

He added that there is an example of the US helping in situations like this, citing the case of Bodnarius in 2015, a Christian couple from Romania and Norway whose five children, including a nursing baby, were placed in Norway for seven months for allegedly beating their children.

“There were a number of congressmen, members of the Senate, and the State Department who signed letters, [asking] questions and putting pressure on the Norwegian case at the time,” explained Corlatean. “It helped a lot. So there is an example of good cooperation.”

Sweden’s social services previously told Fox News Digital it could not comment on individual cases and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Swedish embassy said it cannot comment or intervene in individual cases.

“Sweden highly values ​​its excellent relations with Romania, including NATO Allies and EU member states,” the ambassador said.

“In Sweden, everyone has the same constitutional rights and freedoms, regardless of race, skin color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status’ as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” it continues.

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“Swedish social services employ social workers who have special knowledge of the needs of children,” said the ambassador. “The welfare committee in the municipality where the child lives is responsible for ensuring that the children grow up in a safe environment.