Indiana father in firearm, customs cases says Dominican government deported his family
An Indiana family that moved to the Commonwealth of Dominica to escape Covid-19 mandates and soon wound up entangled in the legal system there has been deported from the eastern Caribbean island.
Jason Grogg told IndyStar that he and his family were back in Logansport on Friday. Grogg said the deportation occurred March 6. IndyStar has reached out to Dominica's Director of Public Prosecutions' Office for comment but has yet to receive a response.
More: After COVID-19 drove them to leave the U.S, Indiana family encounters legal trouble
Grogg said his family moved to Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, in 2021 to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to start a new life free of Covid-related restrictions. But, the family's legal troubles began when authorities searched their rental home and the shipping container they used to move their possessions to the island. The authorities found a gun, ammunition and other firearm accessories in their possession.
Grogg, who was a firearms instructor, was not legally permitted to possess any of the items in Dominica. He said the items had been mistakenly packed and shipped during their move.
Dominican authorities opened two cases against the family, one for possession of the weapon and accessories, and the other involving customs. When law enforcement authorities found the items, they arrested Grogg, his wife, Jennifer, and their two eldest daughters. Their two youngest children were sent to a home for abused and neglected children. The government even seized his passport.
Jason Grogg said he pleaded guilty to the the weapons possession charge. He also paid a fine of about $9,250. All charges were dropped against his wife and children.
Grogg claims Dominica's government unjustly and illegally prosecuted his family. In the months prior to this deportation, a defiant Grogg has publicly criticized the island's prime minister and government in local radio interviews and on social media.
Grogg said the status of the customs case remains unclear. He contends neither he nor his local attorney have received a deportation notice or any notice that the legal case has been dropped in light of the deportation.
In a video Grogg filmed from the inside of an airplane last week, and shared via WhatsApp with IndyStar, Grogg said his family was traveling from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami.
"I guess the wicked government of Dominica is just going to dump us in Miami and expect us to find our way when everything we own is in Dominica," he said.
In a telephone interview with IndyStar, Grogg said Dominica's Criminal Investigation Department arrived at the family's home at 5 a.m. on March 6 without warning, waking him, his wife and three youngest children from sleep. His eldest daughter had already returned to the U.S. to get married. He accused officers of pretending to search for guns for several minutes before notifying the family of their deportation.
"They gave us about five minutes to pack things," he said. "We just got our computer backpacks, and that was it. I had no money. I had my wallet. My ID — they took that from me."
Grogg said the authorities eventually returned his wife and kids' passports, but he claims the country continues to keep his. He's trying to get it back. IndyStar reached out to the Criminal Investigation Department for comment. An employee at the office said no one was available to speak on the matter Monday morning.
Meanwhile back in the U.S., the Grogg family found their way back to Logansport, where friends and family are assisting them as their belongings remain in Dominica. Grogg is vowing to continue fighting to return to Dominica to live permanently.
He hopes the family will return in four months to help the citizens break away from a government he views as not having their best interests at heart. Grogg said he's being directed by God.
"This is where God wants to place us," he said, "and the Dominican people are worth it."
Located half between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, in the eastern Caribbean Sea's Lesser Antilles archipelago, Dominica is home to more than 70,000, according to the CIA's World Factbook. Dominica is also referred to as Nature Island because of its mix of mountains, lush vegetation, waterfalls and volcanos.
The island has a parliamentary republic form of government.
Contact IndyStar investigative reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @allyburris.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Family back in Indiana after deportation from Caribbean island
