Former American Idol contestant Syesha Mercado and her partner Tyron Deener have been reunited with 2-week-old daughter, Ast, who was taken away by authorities in Florida last week. The couple announced the family's reunion on Instagram on Friday, saying "Ast is home. Power to the people."
According to People, the latest development in the family's case comes in the midst of their battle to regain custody of Amen'Ra, another baby who was also taken from the couple on March 11 because he was allegedly "suffering from severe malnutrition."
While conducting a roadside welfare check on Aug. 11, Manatee County deputies provided court a order to the family, demanding they turn over Ast for a hospital checkup. Mercado said she informed police that the child had already gone to the hospital the day before. Still, authorities took the newborn into protective services, as Blavity previously reported.
“THEY TOOK OUR BABY AGAIN!” Mercado wrote on Instagram after watching deputies take a child from her for the second time.
After reuniting with Ast on Friday, the Florida mother posted a video on Instagram of the newborn. Mercado and Deener also thanked the community for joining them in the fight to regain custody of their child.
"Thank y'all for being here unconditionally," Deener said in the video posted to Instagram. "It means everything because we have been going through this for six months, trying to get Amen'Ra back. Then they came at us and took our newborn. Because of y'all, we have her back."
The partly relieved father, who recorded the live video as the family drove home with their baby, said they still have work to do in order to reunite with their first child. He also advocated for many more parents who may have unjustly lost custody of their children.
"We respect the process, we respect the course, we respect everybody's position. But wrong is wrong," he said. "The power is within us. If we unite and we work together, we put things in place to be able to protect ourselves and our babies."
While Mercado sat in the car smiling from ear to ear, Deener said the family will focus on getting "those moments, this week that we have been without her, focus on getting that time back."
