8 Passengers

8 Passengers was an American YouTube channel that was run by Ruby and Kevin Franke. They were well-known for their family vlogs, mainly home-schooling, parenting, and others.https://web.archive.org/web/20190311004531/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ3FRaHOIwXLOQNeUwVpBUA Before termination, they had about 2 million subscribers and one billion views.https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/8passengers
On August 30, 2023, Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, were arrested after her 12-year-old son, Russell, climbed out of a window and asked neighbors for food and water. She was charged with 6 counts of aggravated child abuse.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66719859
==Family members==
*Ruby Franke (mother, owner of channel)
*Kevin Franke (father, ex)
*Shari Franke (oldest daughter)
*Chad Franke (oldest son)
*Abby Franke 
*Julie Franke
*Russell Franke (youngest son)
*Eve Franke (youngest daughter)
==Controversy==
===Child abuse===
In their videos, there were multiple signs of child abuse from Ruby. Those include:https://www.yourtango.com/news/times-ruby-franke-openly-abuse-her-kids-8passengers-youtube
*Threatening to behead one of the kids' teddy bear's head for cutting items in the house.https://www.tiktok.com/@yung.skyebackupxo/video/7035672799029054726
*She and Kevin sending the oldest brother in the family to a therapy camp for troubled teens for 10 weeks.https://www.tiktok.com/@the_internet_is_foreverr/video/7242422264631774506https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvQfekq5tic
*Telling her sons they would lose the "privilege to eat dinner" after horse-playing.https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelutahvloggers2/video/7271771013870849281
*Forcing one of the daughters to sleep on the bathroom floor after "wetting the bed".https://www.tiktok.com/@8.passesngers.rubydoo/video/6970585144583277830 
*Making one of the kids' do push-ups as a punishment for leaving socks outside.https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelutahvloggers2/video/7270266334523477250
*Taking the oldest brother's bed away, making him sleep on a beanbag for 7 months.https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelutahvloggers2/video/7271173940809157890
*Hoping that Eve, her 6-year-old (at the time) daughter goes hungry after forgetting to make her own lunch and doesn't want to grab other people's lunch.https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/parents-heartbroken-as-mum-explains-why-she-wont-pack-lunch-for-her-girl-6-c-11230308
When Ruby was arrested, Shari, the oldest daughter, linked a Google Doc to her Instagram story, asking viewers to document moments of child abuse on the channel.https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-pain-meant-teacher-shari-franke-google-doc-receives-tons-video-evidence-links-wake-crowdsourcing-efforthttps://averagebeing.com/shari-franke-google-document-crowdsourcing-explained/
====Ruby's arrest====
On the morning of August 30, 2023, her 12-year-old son, Russell, escaped from a window in Hildebrandt's home. He ran to a house in Ivins, Utah, and asked for help. The person called 911, saying that he had open wounds and tape over his body.https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/9/7/23863703/ruby-franke-8-passengers-911-call-utah After the call, both Ruby and Jodi were placed under arrest on aggravated child abuse charges, and were brought into custody.https://web.archive.org/web/20230831130812/https://news.washeriff.net/divisions/bookings/ (FRANKE, RUBY + HILDEBRANDT, JODI N)
On September 5, 2023, Ruby and Jodi were formally charged with 6 counts of aggravated child abuse, however, it was decreased to four. She pleaded guilty to all charges,https://www.npr.org/2023/12/18/1220098496/ruby-franke-the-youtube-mom-who-gave-parenting-advice-pleads-guilty-to-child-abu and eventually, both Ruby and Jodi were sentenced to four consecutive sentences of 1-15 years in a Utah prison, resulting in a 4-60 year sentence.https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/us/blogger-ruby-franke-sentenced-four-consecutive-prison-terms/index.html However, due to state guidelines, the maximum sentence they received is 30 years.https://www.today.com/parents/family/live-blog/ruby-franke-sentencing-child-abuse-rcna139269
In March 2024, bodycam footage of Ruby and Jodi's arrest were published, along with a police interview video of Kevin Franke, and one of the children in an ambulance.https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-video-reveals-ruby-frankes-husband-dark-abuse/story?id=108256693https://www.fox13now.com/news/crime/evidence-released-shows-severity-of-abuse-in-franke-and-hildebrandt-case Crime scene photos were also released.https://www.newsnationnow.com/banfield/graphic-evidence-shows-severity-of-abuse-in-youtuber-ruby-franke-case/https://www.fox13now.com/news/crime/evidence-released-shows-severity-of-abuse-in-franke-and-hildebrandt-case A journal was also published, showing the punishments that the children suffered.https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/read-ruby-franke-kept-handwritten-timeline-journal-over-months-her-children-were-abused Those include Russel being forced to stay and sleep outside, being told to "find God and to fast and pray", and others.https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRi0RW29A32UQv55Fxeb5C9NhSdKdeZpCAsV7qLYYEwaDOAA5apNG-WCNDtZgmEBT0fC2fPCsGD_490/pub
A two-hour episode premiered on March 22, 2024 at 9 P.M. EST.https://people.com/abusive-family-vlogger-ruby-franke-in-a-trance-questioned-by-police-new-2020-episode-8619179https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2024/03/22/abcs-2020-set-report-crimes-ruby/
====Divorce====
On November 29, 2023, Kevin Franke filed a petition for divorce.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/ruby-franke-husband-kevin-franke-divorce-filing-rcna127392 The reason why he filed a divorce is due to his addictions.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqkbmIBOBAU
==Termination==
On August 2, 2023, weeks before her arrest, the 8 Passengers channel was terminated for violating YouTube's Terms of Service. Later, on September 1, 2023, the channel for ConneXions, a mental fitness and relationship coaching curriculum, and owned by Ruby Franke, was terminated for the same reason. YouTube confirmed they terminated both channels linking to Ruby in accordance with creator responsibility guidelines.https://www.insider.com/youtube-removed-accounts-ruby-franke-8-passengers-connexions-jodi-hildebrandt-2023-9
==References==
Category:Cooking YouTubers
Category:Vlogging YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2015
Category:Terminated YouTubers
Category:One million subscribers
Category:Two million subscribers
Category:One billion views