UPDATES on Reunite the Riveras: Film Premiere on Five Fitchburg Children Removed by MA DCF

Five Fitchburg Children Removed from the Rivera Family UPDATE:
Legacy Media Invited to Legacy Place to Learn the Truth at the Premiere of TAKEN: State Sanctioned Kidnapping
Hosted by WRKO’s Jeff Kuhner

By Joan Quinn Eastman

Dedham, MA – Updates on the Fitchburg 5 Rivera children taken by the state will be offered in real-time, in-person at the premiere of TAKEN: State Sanctioned Kidnapping. The special screening event begins at 6 PM on September 7, 2025, at Legacy Place Showcase Cinema, Dedham, Massachusetts.

Limited seating available.

This film exposes the harrowing ordeal of the five Fitchburg children unjustly taken by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), spotlighting a case that challenges the very essence of American freedom and parental rights.

“I am still in disbelief that in America, I have lost almost everything for asserting my rights to protect my own children,” exclaims Isael “Izzy” Rivera, the central figure in the film, whose children were taken by the state. “Every day without them is agonizing.”

While the documentary raises profound questions about parental rights and government overreach, the Rivera family’s story has drawn national attention and become a symbol of resistance against unchecked state authority.

Last March, Ruth Encarnacion and Isael “Izzy” Rivera, parents of five children aged 1 to 11 years, had their family suddenly torn apart. Months later, at the mercy of an unyielding legal system, they have yet to be reunited.

Jeff Kuhner, top morning-drive talk show host on WRKO AM 680, will serve as MC for the evening that reveals the real story of the Rivera family’s plight. Kuhner has been a champion of righting the wrongs suffered by the Rivera family since April, when the parents were finally extradited back to Massachusetts following a month of separation in Texas jails. Harnessing the outraged reaction of his call-in listeners, whom he refers to as the “best audience in the business,” The Kuhner Report has covered the story extensively.

The ordeal began when the Riveras, exercising their parental rights, declined a Vitamin K shot for their baby. Dr. Behzad Goharfar, reportedly an Iranian-trained pediatrician, insisted that the infant, who was seven months old at the time, must receive a Vitamin K shot. Generally administered only to newborns, the first side effect in the black box warning of the shot is fatality, which makes one wonder why the Fitchburg pediatrician was pushing it to begin with, and for a 7 month old. He filed a 51A report with DCF against Izzy Rivera, not because his child was unhealthy, but for neglect—for “neglecting” to give the shot.

According to family members and witnesses, shortly after the mandated reporter filed the complaint last February, DCF agents and Fitchburg police repeatedly swarmed the family’s Fitchburg home, demanding to “lay eyes on” the children to confirm that they were well.

Knowing their children were perfectly healthy and happy, and in no imminent danger—as is required for the overzealous level of police and DCF action taken against them—and fully within their rights to do so, the family declined DCF services. Izzy attempted to reason with DCF and the Fitchburg Police Department (FPD) to protect his family and leave them in peace. But the agencies would not relent. Feeling threatened by the continued harassment, the Riveras opted to travel to Texas to consider living where they believed their rights would be respected. Instead, the couple was separated, jailed, and unable to communicate with one another during a crisis when they needed each other the most.

Their departure from Massachusetts not only triggered an interstate manhunt but thrust the family’s relatively normal life into the searing spotlight of public scrutiny, bringing its own strain of cruelty. The father is being portrayed as violent, stemming from a long since resolved minor dispute outside their home a decade ago. The couple has been growing their family together for almost a dozen years. Yet, DCF is insisting the parents take domestic violence classes to have their children returned, despite both parents, and the children, denying any trouble in the home.

In Texas, the family’s nightmare escalated as speculation snowballed. When the family was tracked down, the parents were apprehended as if they were the worst of criminals. Surrounded by upwards of 20 Texas law enforcement officers from different agencies dressed in riot gear, Izzy and Ruth were forcibly removed from the RV they were staying in, handcuffed at gunpoint in front of their screaming children. The five traumatized minors were then taken into state custody and transported by strangers back to Massachusetts. Left behind were their mother and father, who were thrown into separate jails with no contact with each other and no answers about the whereabouts or well being of their children.

“It’s hard to believe that declining one shot for one of my five children, and one move by a doctor, caused a damaging domino effect I could have never imagined,” exclaims the father of five.

For protecting their children, each parent faced an exorbitant bond in Texas—$2.5 million, a half million per child—despite no evidence of abuse or neglect and no criminal record.

Upon their transfer to back to Massachusetts, the bail amounts changed dramatically but remained outrageous: $7,500 for Ruth and $20,000 for Izzy, raising questions about the use of bail as a punitive measure rather than a neutral court requirement. Why was bail set on par with that of violent criminals and sex offenders? Why was there no reduction at Rivera’s bail review hearing? Why are Ruth and Izzy being treated as if they are guilty until proven innocent? By what authority does this extreme action continue to be taken against the Rivera family? These are among the many questions posed in the documentary.

Ruth made bail right away, while Izzy languished in jail in Massachusetts for almost six more weeks as his exorbitant $20,000 bail was being raised through GiveSendGo/JusticeForIzzyandRuth. the family has no choice but to continue to raise money for their defense and to pay the rent on the home for their children.

In a scene from the documentary TAKEN: State Sanctioned Kidnapping, Izzy Rivera bids farewell to Sheriff Lew Evangelidis after his six week stay at the Worcester County Jail. 

While Rivera was held in the Worcester County Jail, there was reportedly a lockdown with no communication for a month. During that time, without Izzy being informed or giving consent, all five Rivera children were vaccinated, even though, upon their return to Massachusetts, the Rivera children were confirmed by their state medical examinations to be healthy. While the children remain in state custody, they are in foster care with family members.

In the commonwealth known as the “Cradle of Liberty,” one lawful decision has become a “snake pit of peril” for the parents as they continue to suffer the severe consequences of unwarranted actions taken against them. Despite having a four-bedroom apartment ready for the children, their bedrooms sit empty. Ruth and Izzy have been limited to one or two hours of supervised visits per week, defying a court order allowing for as much as 12 hours.

Kuhner, known as a fearless clarion of truth, calls the Rivera family’s ordeal a new “shot heard ‘round the world,” predicting it will ignite a political rebellion against the harmful practices of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the court systems that support them. Last April, Kuhner dubbed the Rivera’s case “Justina Pelletier 2.0,” prompting him to host the American Made People’s Press Conference at the Massachusetts Statehouse on April 24th.

Jeff Kuhner will be at the VIP reception and will moderate the Q&A.

The alleged medical neglect filed last February caused DCF to intervene without due process. Despite zero evidence of abuse or neglect, the family was pursued across state lines, accused of “kidnapping” their own children.

Massachusetts authorities have gone even further, pursuing criminal charges (which are  misdemeanors) against the Izzy and Ruth—not for harming their children, but for exercising their fundamental right to protect them as they see fit and to move freely across state lines without bureaucratic “permission.”

The mother and father return to Fitchburg District Court on August 28, 2025, for a public hearing. Ruth’s attorney, Kevin Carl Larson, has filed a motion that gives the state the opportunity to dismiss the charges against Ruth Encarnacion for five counts of “Kidnapping Minor by Relative.” If the case ends up going to trial, Larson feels confident that his client will prevail since the State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was properly served before her children were taken. If that is the case, then why waste taxpayers’ money going to trial and continue torturing the family by keeping them apart?

The father recently replaced his court-appointed attorney, Karli Fernandez, by retaining, William Gens for his criminal defense. Following the exit of his court-appointed counsel, Maria Christos, Rivera also secured Greg Hession to represent him in Juvenile Court after seeing him speak out against the injustices of DCF.

Until the criminal charges are dropped, both parents are essentially unemployable since background checks show “five counts of kidnapping” on their records. Formerly both gainfully employed in home-based businesses, those dried up when they were falsely portrayed as “criminals” by mainstream media. Izzy, a digital marketer, continues to reinvigorate his business helping grow other businesses, and Ruth is assured she will be able return to her role as a medical translator/transcriptionist as soon as the misleading label is removed. In the meantime, she is picking up whatever work she can to continue to help pay the bills until her children are returned.

Ruth and Izzy have been growing their family together for nearly a dozen years.

Once criminal charges have been cleared, it would follow that, since a parent has the right to decline an unwanted shot, no grounds remain for DCF to continue holding the Rivera children. It would also follow that DCF should be required to reunite the family immediately.

But will DCF do right by them?

The Riveras’ story reveals the cruelty of a system that has, among other things, limited the time the devoted parents now get to spend with their formerly homeschooled children. What was essentially full-time family time has now been diminished to one or two hours of supervised visits per week—without a trial, a conviction, or a court finding of wrongdoing.

DCF’s actions, including misrepresenting the family’s status as “fugitives” to Texas authorities, reflect a pattern of systemic abuse in the child welfare system. Upwards of 10,000 children are currently held in state custody, as part of the $1.53 billion public sector industry in Massachusetts alone. More often than not, most are reportedly removed from loving homes on flimsy grounds or, as in the case of the five Fitchburg children, mere suspicion of neglect.

In the film, producer Maureen Steele delivers riveting interviews with Rivera, as well as Michael King, President of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a dedicated advocate for parental rights, and attorneys Gens and Hession—all of whom are committed to exposing systemic flaws and advocating for family rights and the immediate reunification of the Rivera family and will be available for comment at the screening.

Featured on the film’s Q&A panel are producer Ann Vandersteel, who weaves together alarming facts about the system with the shocking story, her fellow producer Maureen Steele, and Attorney Chris Burns of the United Law Coalition. The trio will offer insights into the systemic flaws within child welfare agencies, urging a critical examination of state power in what has become widely known as a “rogue predatory agency.” The United Law Coalition is filing a landmark federal lawsuit against CPS and associated bad actors.

The constitutional right to travel has also been blatantly violated in this case, upheld by the Supreme Court in cases like Saenz v. Roe (1999) and Shapiro v. Thompson (1969). The Riveras’ decision to visit or relocate was labeled as “kidnapping,” effectively criminalizing their mobility and parental choices, protected under the Privileges and Immunities Clause, the Commerce Clause, and the 14th Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection guarantees.

This case also highlights a troubling trend: allegations alone, without substantiation, can result in the severance of family bonds. The judicial system’s reliance on the claims of child welfare agencies, without independent scrutiny, mirrors the kind of deference the Supreme Court struck down in its June 28, 2024, ruling against Chevron deference, which limited agencies’ ability to interpret laws unilaterally. The decision states that administrative agencies may not impose regulations that exceed the legal authority granted to them by Congress.

The question is, will the judicial system honor it?

This Legacy Place event serves as a call to action for legacy media and the public to witness the truth behind the controversial Rivera case—a national test case that questions whether Americans remain free to make their own decisions about their children, how to live, and move without state interference.

From all accounts, five happy, healthy children were removed from their loving parents—by a rubber stamp—as their parents continue to be misrepresented by the media, and railroaded through the legal and DCF systems for traveling with their own offspring to protect them as they saw fit.

What does liberty truly mean if such devastating action can be taken against an American family? Separating children from their parents must always be a last resort, not the first one. Legislators, lawyers, and the like must be instructed by those they serve—the people—to pass laws to lift the corrupt cloak of darkness under which DCF maneuvers.

As a federal lawsuit against CPS and its collaborators gains momentum, the premiere of TAKEN: State Sanctioned Kidnapping demands attention from every journalist and American committed to uncovering systemic injustice and preserving the American family.

“Families deserve protection from corruption—not persecution,” said Ann Vandersteel, producer and investigative reporter who exposes a wicked web of corruption in the documentary. “This film is the wake-up call needed by the American public and the press.”

#ReuniteTheRiveras

Event Details:
September 7, 2025, 6:00 PM
Legacy Place Showcase Cinemas
680 Legacy Place
Dedham, MA 02026
Limited seating available!
Get Tickets now, before they are all TAKEN! www.americanmadefoundation.org

• 6:00 PM (general admission seating)
• VIP Reception: 6:00–6:45 PM (Jeff Kuhner, producers, & special guests)
• Film Screening: 7:00 PM, Running time: 42 mins
• Post-Screening: Audience Q&A with attorneys, Rivera family, and film producers

General Admission to screening, introduction, Q&A: $25.
VIP Reception with Jeff Kuhner, Rivera family, and those in the film: $100.