The story of a 19 year old girl who says she can’t prove her citizenship has gone wildly viral — and now her lawyer dad has responded, in a video speech directed at his daughter. Alecia Faith Pennington’s case has taken the internet by storm. Comment sections and social media feeds are filled with speculation — people think the daughter is lying, or that the parents are. There has been a backlash against homeschooling parents (though the vast majority of those do go through normal channels and provide their children with identity documents.)
Now there’s a new development: Alecia’s dad, who says he’s an attorney and an accountant, has responded via a YouTube video, in which he does not deny Alecia’s lack of documents, though he says that he was helping her get a driver’s license before she left home, but repeatedly asks her to contact him, or meet him in person, to be given the needed information. You can watch it below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezZs2rT-FEA&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop
It isn’t the first time the parents have responded. Alecia’s lawyer dad said much the same thing in the comments section on an Addicting Info article, saying,
Actually, we have been very willing all along to meet with her and help her. She’s wanted to do it all on her own and that’s her choice. I told her I would be happy to sign any affidavit that will help her in the process. We only want the best for her.
Alecia’s mother has also responded to the situation. She doesn’t address her daughter’s claim that she can’t prove citizenship, but in a blog post, calls her daughter’s leaving a betrayal, and refers to her parents helping the then-18-year-old leave home, before assuring readers that the situation has strengthened her own relationship with God.
On Wednesday, September 24th my life was changed forever. My 18 year old daughter left home. She gave us no warning, no signs that it was coming. She didn’t try to talk to us about it or work with us. She, with the help of my parents, just left. And with her she took pieces of my heart that had been torn to shreds. I cried harder that day than I ever knew was possible. So hard that it scared my little boys and I had to go in my closet and put a pillow over my face to muffle the sobs.
Meanwhile, Alecia has set up a Facebook page, where she calls for others who have struggled to prove citizenship, or know what she needs to do, to contact her and help. Comments there advise her, among other things, to set up a crowdfunding account and sue her parents.
Here’s Alecia’s original video, in case you haven’t seen it.
Viewing from the sidelines, the internet audience has no evidence, beyond the statements from Alecia and her parents, to know what is really going on here. However, the very notion that a young adult can’t prove citizenship because of choices her parents made is alarming, and showcases how difficult it can be to obtain documentation when one starts with none.