The Courtroom That Erased Fatherhood: Four Father's Days Without a Word

This past Sunday marked the fourth Father’s Day that Jeff Reichert spent without hearing from his son. No call. No card. Not even a whisper.

Four Father’s Days.
Four years of silence.
Four years of sanctioned cruelty disguised as justice.
Four years of being illegally thrown in jail, threatened with jail, and harassed about going to jail constantly.

The irony? Had Mr. Reichert succumbed to the corrupt attempts to incarcerate him, he would’ve seen his son more from jail than he has as a free man—especially on Father’s Days.

This is not an isolated tragedy. It is the story of what happens when the Maryland family court system—built under the pretense of “best interests”—becomes a machine for the state-sponsored erasure of fathers.

Jeff Reichert was never found unfit. No trial ever determined he was abusive, neglectful, or dangerous. But it didn’t matter. Because in Maryland’s family courts, you don’t need evidence to lose your child. All it takes is a few whispered lies, the right connections, the right enemies, and a judiciary willing to look the other way.

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The System Picks Winners. And Targets.

Sarah Hornbeck—Reichert’s ex—has spent years turning family court into a weapon. Backed by attorney Brennan McCarthy and what Reichert describes as a network of “off-the-record favors,” she’s manipulated the legal process into a slow-motion vendetta. One where only her side is heard, and Jeff Reichert is treated not as a father—but as an enemy to be silenced.

But here’s the part no judge wants to confront:

Sarah didn’t just attack Jeff out of personal resentment. She did it because she could.
She did it with the full backing of a system that wanted him gone. This is a man who had already won. Jeff had full custody. A final Consent Order. Sarah was under a protective order, probation, and a no-contact agreement. There was a mandatory mediation clause in effect that ensured that they would never return to court and never involve Grant since he was finally safe and happy. Both parents had access to him.

By all legal logic, the war was over.
And still—it started again.

Why?

Because Jeff refused to disappear.
Because Grant was thriving.
Because a book was coming.
Because someone in Maryland decided he wasn’t supposed to win.

That’s when the system flipped. That’s when doors closed. That’s when courtrooms stopped hearing evidence and started playing defense—for her. Not for the child. Not for the law. For her.

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Two Fathers. Two Outcomes. One Pattern.

It’s often said that family court doesn’t pick sides. But in Jeff Reichert’s world, it very clearly did.

Some observers have asked: Why does Sarah Hornbeck treat Jeff Reichert—the father of one of her children—with such rage and vengeance, while her other child’s father, Beau Engle, seems untouched?

The truth is—she went after Beau too. But it didn’t stick.

Why?

Because Beau didn’t have anything she could use.
He wasn’t writing a book.
He didn’t work for billionaires.
He didn’t have the kind of leverage or life she wanted to ruin.
He was broke—and in the end, he got primary custody.

If Sarah Hornbeck were the capable, fit mother she claims to be—why doesn’t she have primary custody of her other 12 year old son Danny?

The comparison doesn’t absolve her. It exposes her. Because it proves this isn’t about what’s “best for the child.”
It’s about who’s easier to destroy.

And Jeff?

Jeff fought.
Jeff won.
Jeff had Grant’s trust, Grant’s love, and for a while—full custody.

That’s what triggered her rage.

Because for people with Borderline Personality traits, the more stable and secure the target, the more intense the need to control or annihilate them. Jeff’s success as a father—his refusal to submit—became a threat.

And with Maryland behind her, Sarah launched the second war. Not for custody. Not for parenting.
But for erasure.

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Retaliation, Repetition, and Raw Power

Recently, Jeff requested a wellness check from the Baltimore County Police to ensure his son’s safety. The response?

Every time Jeff tries to stand up for himself or his son, Sarah retaliates. File a motion? She files three. Post something online? She gets a gag order. Assert his rights? She calls the court and something “coincidentally” goes against him. Every. Single . Time. She lies to the court to get a PO issues. She lies to the commissioner to get arrest warrants issued.

What kind of influence does she wield behind closed doors? What power does she hold in Anne Arundel County’s courthouse halls that allows her to keep winning rulings with no legal foundation—just silence, secrecy, and force?

It doesn’t matter how many rights Jeff asserts.

It doesn’t matter how many laws are on his side.

Because it’s not a court of law. It’s a court of access. A court of appearance. A court of backroom deals where the outcome was decided before Jeff ever walked in.

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An Inadequate Wellness Check

Recently, Jeff requested a wellness check from the Baltimore County Police to ensure his son’s safety. The response?

A simple “10-4”—that Grant is “still in Maryland.”

That response is completely inadequate for a wellness check involving a 15-year-old boy who:

• Has a documented history of emotional distress and trauma

• Is cut off from all communication with his father and family

• May be at risk of being taken out of state or even adopted against his will

• Has previously been hidden in remote, isolated locations with no contact

A wellness check is supposed to verify the actual safety and condition of a minor—not just accept that someone “thinks” he’s in the state.

Here’s What This Implies:

• Police never physically laid eyes on Grant.

• They likely accepted the word of Sarah Hornbeck or John Michel.

• They did not confirm his welfare, safety, or living conditions.

• They failed to meet the standard of care required when a concerned parent files a wellness request on a minor.

This lack of real verification should trigger alarm bells.

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This Is Not Custody—It Is Human Trafficking

Let’s stop pretending this is still about the child’s best interest. Let’s call it what it is: human trafficking under the color of law.

When a child is taken across state lines, cut off from a parent, enrolled in secret schools, used to justify endless legal fees and judicial favors—what else do you call it?

When a father is erased not because of danger but because of inconvenience, we’re not talking about family law anymore. We’re talking about state-enabled abduction and identity erasure—with the full blessing of the Maryland judiciary.

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The Harder You Fight, The Harder You Fall

It’s not just Jeff. I know this pain myself.

This year marks another Father’s Day I missed—my son unlawfully withheld from me, while I watch a corrupt system reward the person who cut me out.

The more I fight to see him, the more I am punished.
The more I speak up, the more I am silenced.
I’ve filed motions. I’ve followed the law. I’ve begged the court to enforce its own orders. But it’s like screaming into a void while my child is taught that I don’t care—when I care more than anyone ever will.

What kind of justice is this?

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How Many More Father’s Days Must Be Stolen?

The biggest problem not talked about in our country is fatherless children.

Jeff Reichert has done everything a father is supposed to do—except give up. And for that, he’s been punished again and again, as though the act of wanting to be a father is a crime.

He has missed four Father’s Days.
Not because he disappeared.
Because the court disappeared him.

While Sarah Hornbeck plays happy co-parent with Beau Engle, she wages a scorched-earth custody war against Jeff—who still dares to ask for nothing more than time with his son.

The truth is brutal: Maryland family court does not protect children.
It protects the connected.
It protects those who know how to twist the system into a sword.

And fathers? We’re collateral damage.
The kids? An afterthought.

Jeff Reichert was also labeled a “child abuser,” which has hindered his ability to pursue his passion—coaching kids. He has played a father-figure role to countless children over the years—not just Grant. Since February 2022, he has not been able to coach a single child due to this court’s lies.

It’s tragic. It’s deliberate. And in a so-called civil society—it should be unthinkable.

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Thriving—Until the Court Tore It Away

For over one-third of his life, Grant Reichert has been illegally alienated from his father—despite desperately wanting to be with him the entire time.

And somehow, Jeff Reichert is the one labeled the “alienator.”

Let that sink in:
A father who had full custody.
A son who wanted nothing more than to stay with him.
And a court that reversed everything—with no due process, no evidence, and no regard for the truth.

Before Maryland intervened—twice—Grant wasn’t just doing “okay.”
He was thriving:

• Straight A’s in all honors classes

• Football and basketball team member

• A tight-knit group of local friends

• A girlfriend and 24,000+ followers on Twitch

• Walking distance to school, living in a safe, supportive home

• Active on an airsoft team, learning guitar with a private teacher

• Healthy—not obese, not isolated, not in distress

• Seeing two different therapists, both court-appointed, both in agreement:
  Grant should not be forced to interact with his mother.

He had access to both parents, both families. There were no restrictions placed on Sarah Hornbeck. He simply chose not to see her. Because of how she treated him. Because he had a voice—and, for a brief moment, he was allowed to use it.

And then?

Anne Arundel County Family Court ripped it away.
Not once.
Twice.
In two different states—Maryland in 2020, and Virginia in 2022—during a global pandemic, Grant’s stability was torn from him by court order.

Now, the same system that shattered his life dares to say he’s “thriving” without his father—and uses that false narrative as justification for cutting off all contact. No child could be “thriving” if he has been cut off from the only parent he loves and trusts for 3.5 years.

But is he really thriving today?

He’s no longer in school with his friends.
He’s no longer playing sports.
He’s reportedly isolated, cut off, and in the 98th percentile for weight—a far cry from the active, healthy boy he once was.
He’s not online, not public-facing, not reachable. No one has spoken to him since January. No one.

So we ask again:

Is this thriving? Or is this damage control? If he was “thriving” wouldn’t Jeff know about it? Wouldn’t they want Grant to share that with him?

Because what Jeff Reichert and anyone who knew Grant before February 2022 can tell you is this:

He was happy.
He was loved.
He was free.

Until Maryland family court decided he wasn’t allowed to be.

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The Questions Maryland Won’t Answer

And while we’re at it—let’s ask the questions no one in power seems willing to answer:

• Why have Judges Donna Schaeffer, Allison Asti, and Elizabeth Morris continued to deny Jeff Reichert his most basic rights as a parent? Who do they really answer to?

• Why, after years of litigation, motions, and documented efforts to be involved in his son's life, is Jeff still being silenced and sidelined?

• Why do their rulings consistently favor Sarah Hornbeck—without facts, testimony, or constitutional justification?

• Why was the case never moved to Virginia, where Jeff and Grant lived? Or to Baltimore County, where Sarah and Grant live now?

• Why is this case still being forced through Anne Arundel County—where none of the parties have lived since 2020?

• Who is influencing these decisions?

• Who is paying for the protection Sarah seems to receive?

Let’s not forget: Schaeffer is not just a judge — she is the head administrative judge of Anne Arundel County, the one responsible for assigning cases. And by sheer coincidence (or design), Jeff’s case has repeatedly landed in the hands of judges who toe the same line, uphold the same secrecy, and issue the same gag orders while enabling the same abusive pattern.

Mr. Reichert rightfully filed to have the case removed to Virginia where he and Grant lived in 2021. Judge Schaeffer denied it. He filed to have the case removed to Baltimore County where Sarah and Grant live. She denied it. Twice. He has filed to recuse Judge Asti — twice, Judge Morris — twice. Both denied.

Why is the case being forced back to Anne Arundel County, to only these judges, when no parties have lived there since September 2020?

Now add in Helen Laird, the court-employed custody evaluator.
How “neutral” can she be when she’s paid by the same system, under the same leadership, as the judges she’s advising?

It’s a closed circuit.

The court pays the evaluator.

The evaluator issues a biased recommendation.

The judge rubber-stamps it.
And the parent on the outside? Is destroyed.

Jeff’s case isn’t about custody anymore.
It’s a state-sponsored character assassination.

Does it have to do with Jeff’s prior careers? He did work for one of Maryland largest employers that is based in…you guessed it. Anne Arundel County.

Helen Laird has never had to explain why her reports align so neatly with the preferences of Sarah Hornbeck and her attorneys. She’s never had to testify under oath about whether she considered Jeff’s actual relationship with his son—or simply regurgitated the narrative handed to her. And no one has forced her to explain the appearance of conflict of interest in being both an arm of the court and the gatekeeper to Jeff’s parental rights.

Maryland doesn’t want him to win—because winning would expose what they’ve done.

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The Silence Is the Scandal

If Jeff Reichert is dangerous—then prove it.
If he’s unfit—show us the evidence.
But they won’t. Because they can’t.
Because there is none.

What we have instead is a family court system in Maryland that hides behind sealed files, secret hearings, and a long line of insiders who protect each other at the expense of innocent fathers and traumatized children.

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So Again We Ask:

• Who is protecting Sarah Hornbeck?

• Why is Maryland refusing to follow the law?

• What role has Helen Laird played in perpetuating a false narrative?

• And how many more children must be weaponized before someone steps in?

This isn’t just about Jeff Reichert.
It’s about every father who’s been erased.
It’s about a system that answers to power—not truth.
And it’s about a child who deserves more than lies, silencing, and legalized kidnapping.

Jeff Reichert spent another Father’s Day in silence.
So did I.
And until this system is dragged into the daylight, thousands more will remain silenced.

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#FreeGrantReichert

#ReformFamilyCourt

#EndJudicialImmunity

#BringBackDueProcess

👉 To share your story or support the movement, visit FreeGrantReichert.com or email mikethunderphillips@gmail.com