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A Texas State Trooper maintains a roadblock to polygamist retreat
Utah and Arizona Prosecutors Won’t Raid Polygamist Compounds
by
findingDulcinea Staff
by Isabel Cowles
Hands-off pledge suggests the two states will overlook polygamy in hopes of more cooperation and trust from sects.
Hands-off pledge suggests the two states will overlook polygamy in hopes of more cooperation and trust from sects.
30-Second Summary
Top prosecutors in Utah and Arizona announced in a Polygamy Town Meeting, attended by over 1,000 people, that they will not raid polygamist groups in their states.
The two prosecutors, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard explained at the meeting that they work differently from law enforcers in Texas, by specifically targeting polygamists “committing specific crimes, including arranged marriages of minor girls,” NPR reports.
Many of the polygamists at the meeting felt nervous that their way of life has been wrongly publicized when the Yearn for Zion Ranch (Eldorado, Texas) was raided, and more than 500 women and children were removed by Texas lawmakers.
The Polygamy Town Meeting was an opportunity for Utah and Arizona polygamists to articulate their beliefs and way of life outside of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), the sect of Mormonism to which the Yearn for Zion Ranch belonged.
Before the Texas raids, many polygamist families contemplated moving to Texas. Since Shurleff and Goddard’s announcement, however, many have decided to remain in Utah and Arizona. According to the New York Times, “Over the last month, dozens of families have come forward to cooperate with a court-appointed officer, pay their bills and sign documents that could allow them to stay in their homes [in Utah].”
The two prosecutors, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard explained at the meeting that they work differently from law enforcers in Texas, by specifically targeting polygamists “committing specific crimes, including arranged marriages of minor girls,” NPR reports.
Many of the polygamists at the meeting felt nervous that their way of life has been wrongly publicized when the Yearn for Zion Ranch (Eldorado, Texas) was raided, and more than 500 women and children were removed by Texas lawmakers.
The Polygamy Town Meeting was an opportunity for Utah and Arizona polygamists to articulate their beliefs and way of life outside of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), the sect of Mormonism to which the Yearn for Zion Ranch belonged.
Before the Texas raids, many polygamist families contemplated moving to Texas. Since Shurleff and Goddard’s announcement, however, many have decided to remain in Utah and Arizona. According to the New York Times, “Over the last month, dozens of families have come forward to cooperate with a court-appointed officer, pay their bills and sign documents that could allow them to stay in their homes [in Utah].”
Headline Link: Polygamists off the hook in Utah, Arizona
NPR reports that during a two-hour meeting in an overcrowded convention hall in St. George Utah, top Utah and Arizona prosecutors pledged not to raid polygamist groups. Polygamist wives and husbands also spoke, saying they are different from polygamists at the Yearn for Zion Ranch, whose members are of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).
Source: NPR
Background: Yearn for Zion raid prompts concern over polygamist lifestyle
FindingDulcinea reported on the ongoing removal of women and children from the Yearn for Zion ranch outside of Eldorado, Texas. According to the piece, “The inhabitants of the ranch belong to a Mormon sect, not recognized by the mainstream Mormon church, called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The FLDS broke away from the central Mormon church after it banned polygamy in 1890.”
Source: findingDulcinea
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said that at least 41 of the 463 children in state custody had past broken or fractured bones. Officials were also looking into possible sexual abuse of boys, based on interviews and journal entries. The news followed on the heels of reports that more than half of the teenage girls taken from the ranch already have children, or are pregnant.
Source: findingDulcinea
A month after the Yearn for Zion Ranch was raided, the Texas Attorney General was ordered by a state judge to prosecute any further criminal cases connected to the ranch. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said that he “will not prosecute bigamy among the FLDS unless someone is committing additional felonies, such as sexual abuse or fraud.” The Texas AG has not made the same claim.
Source: The Salt Lake Tribune
Reactions: Utah and Arizona Polygamists safe at home
Polygamists in Utah who had considered moving to Texas have opted to stay home, thanks to Attorney General Shurtleff’s sense that mass raids “would only destroy the trust needed to protect people, including the young girls his office is trying to help,” The New York Times reports. “Some polygamists, who had considered moving to Texas, are putting down roots again here, even cooperating with the authorities. Others are speaking out publicly, trying to distinguish their forms of plural marriage (no under-age brides) from what the authorities say was practiced by the sect in Texas.”
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Reference: Mormonism
For a complete look at the Mormon faith and the role of polygamy and the FLDS therein, visit findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Mormonism.
Source: findingDulcinea
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