According to report, they seized the 10 children and arrested the parents after they refused to let investigators speak to the kids

CPS alerted after neighbor said Joe Naugler threatened him with a knife


A family of 10 children have been seized by Kentucky child services after they were allegedly found to be living in squalor in a tiny cabin filled with garbage.

Police discovered the makeshift property last week when a neighbor said the father, Joe Naugler, threatened him with a knife and a gun.

But Joe and his pregnant wife Nicole insist authorities were waiting for an excuse to punish them for letting their children live a 'free range' and 'back to basics' lifestyle.

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Misunderstood? These are the 10 Naugler children (with their father Joe, center) who have been seized by authorities in Kentucky. Investigators say they live in 'squalor', their parents say they are just 'free range'

Home: Parents Joe and Nicole Naugler posted this picture on Facebook of their makeshift home

'Free range': The children live a 'back to basics' life with absolute independence on the plot of land

This kind of free range life has become a talking point in America in recent years as authorities are faced with parents who claim their apparently unlawful actions are merely an alternative parenting style

So-called 'free range' children have absolute independence from infancy. The controversial parenting style has become a talking point in recent years as one family in Maryland refuses to change their ways despite numerous run-ins with law enforcement.

Home-schooled and at liberty to go or do what they want on their 26-acre plot in Breckenridge County, all 10 of the Nauglers children self-identify as 'free range'.

On Wednesday, they were taken into custody and their mother arrested for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into their living standards.

Nicole, who is five months pregnant, spent a night in a cell and posted a photo on Facebook the next day showing a bruise on her arm, claiming she was hurt during her arrest. She faces magistrates on Monday. Joe, who has previously been charged with passing bad checks and driving without a license, was not arrested.

The couple has created a website slamming authorities for simply disagreeing with their approach to parenting.

However, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services report - posted on Facebook by Nicole Naugler - implies the children's liberty was a mere fraction of the reasons they were seized.

It states: 'The allegations were that the family was residing in a tent, mother had given birth in a tent, there is no running water or septic, none of the children were enrolled in school and the father threatened a neighbor with a weapon (asked child to hand him the gun).'

According to investigators, the family lives on a plot of land with one large shed and two tents.

The shed, they observed, housed dogs, goats and chickens. The smaller 'makeshift tents' appeared to be accommodation for the parents and children that 'could provide shade but would not provide enough space for the family.'

'Numerous piles of garbage, broken glass and nails were also scattered about the property,' the report stated, and there was a pond 'that had no barrier around it to prevent the children from entering or falling in.'

Dispute: Nicole (left), who is five months pregnant, posted this picture of a bruise on her arm claiming she was hurt during her arrest for failing to cooperate. Joe (right), who has previously been convicted of passing bad checks, is accused of threatening a neighbor with a knife and telling one of the children to get his gun

Report: Investigators said the property has a large shed for the animals and smaller spaces for the family

Sleeping quarters: According to their Facebook page, the family sleeps on the bench at the back of this tent

'Back to basics': The Nauglers are the latest in a number of families to promote free range parenting

The investigation is ongoing and the children remained in state custody as of Saturday

The report concludes that despite investigators' attempts to check on the children, Joe and Nicole Naugler refused.

'Due to lack of cooperation with the Cabinet's investigation along with the living conditions of the family CHFS does not feel like the children are safe at this time.'

Nonetheless, the parents have amassed enormous support from friends in their community as they claim they were targeted for living a 'back to basics' life.

Their GoFundMe page has earned more than $30,000 in donations - triple their target.

However, the case has prompted outrage in the home-schooling community, which is legal in the United States.

One mother, Kathryn Brightbill, who educates her children at home said: 'This family desperately needs help and they ought not be lifted up by homeschoolers as martyrs for the movement.'

Another tweeted: 'you can be poor, homeschool+NOT threaten people w guns.'

And one appealed to Go Fund Me to remove the family's online campaign, writing: 'Dear @gofundme: This family has been accused of deplorable neglect by CPS. Please remove this fundraiser.'