Rivercard

This is a fascinating story. There are some bizarre things that have been allowed to go on in Hilldale and Colorado City for far too long........

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Warren Jeffs placed on FBI 10 most wanted list

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The FBI has placed polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs on the agency's 10 most-wanted list, hoping the additional exposure and reward money leads to an arrest in the long-running investigation.

Jeffs is wanted in Arizona on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor. He also was charged in Utah with rape as an accomplice. He is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. "We are doing everything we can to track him down," said Tim Fuhrman, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City field office. "We just made the determination that this is the next step that we can take as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to potentially result in the apprehension of Mr. Jeffs."

The FBI's announcement in a rare Saturday evening news conference coincided with Jeffs' case appearing on the television program "America's Most Wanted." Although Jeffs, who is 6-foot-4 and 150-155 lbs, isn't considered armed, he believed to travel with armed bodyguards.

Jeffs, 50, is the leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the state line communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Jeffs has not been seen by anyone outside of the FLDS community for nearly two years.

He is believed to have safe houses in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota and in Canada. The FLDS church, which is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is also building a compound in Eldorado, Texas. Although there has been speculation that Jeffs may be hiding in the Texas compound, Fuhrman said authorities haven't had probable cause to go inside and search for him. Adding Jeffs to the list won't change that, he said. "We have to observe the Constitution," Fuhrman said. By putting him on the top-10 list, the reward goes from $60,000 to $100,000.

The list is also distributed worldwide, putting head shots of Jeffs everywhere on a list that also includes terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. "One of the things that you need to keep in mind is that in this region, Mr. Jeffs is a relatively familiar face. You get outside of our region and nobody knows who Warren Jeffs is," said Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith, who attended the news conference. "This gives us national and international attention." Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap last month filed two counts of rape as an accomplice against Jeffs in 5th District Court in St., George Utah.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Jeffs is accused of arranging and performing a religious marriage ceremony between a teenager, identified as Jane Doe, and a man, identified as John Doe, in Nevada, according to court documents. The girl objected to the marriage, the documents say, telling Jeffs she was too young to marry. But Jeffs allegedly told the teenage girl that it was her "spiritual duty" to marry and to have children, the documents said.

The Arizona charges include conspiracy to commit sexual conduct wit ha minor for allegedly arranging a marriage between a teenage girl and a 28-year-old man who already was married. If convicted, Jeffs could face up to two years in jail on those charges. "We've learned a considerable amount about Mr. Jeffs and the entire community. We feel like we're very close. We don't feel like it's far off," Smith said.

The FLDS church practices plural marriages, which the mainstream LDS church disavowed in 1890 and excommunicates members found to practicing polygamy.

LoyaltyisaCurse

This is going to turn into Waco part II

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Goin' "Double Maverick!"

Jersey Girl

Let's hope not, but that's what people are saying.

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Paul Calvisi: How about you, Gerald Hayes. If you had to call a travel agent and go to one place in the world, where would it be?

Gerald Hayes: New Jersey.

Rivercard

There have been stories of women being carted off to mental institutions with no due process if they "act up". Young boys in the community are excommunicated so that there are more young girls available to the older men. Families have been "reassigned" at a moments notice by the spiritual leader's whim. Incredible child abuse stories and underage marriages. It's unbelieveable that this has been allowed to take place in America (Arizona no less!) for years under the guise of religious freedom. A disgraceful political football. Amazing.

CardLogic

There has been a reported sighting of fugitive Warren Jeffs reported. Jeffs, at 6'4'' tall, and weighing 150-155 lbs is easy to spot; unless he happend to turn sideways. A video of the sighting is shown below.

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"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Divide Et Impera

I thought that was Paris Hilton....

Linderbee

My husband is 6'2" and was 135 lbs when we met--that was DANG skinny. This guy has to be around the same. 28 inch waist....


btw, yes, it sucks when your husband is 9 inches taller than you, and you weigh more than he does..

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dreamcastrocks--My Hero!!

AZZenny

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oderint dum metuant (Latin for 'let them hate, so long as they fear').


Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav

Donald

What is the Big Love thread doing on the P&R board?

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I'm the anti-TNT. I don't do drama.

conraddobler

Funny I thought the same thing.

Bottom line, a dude that wants more than one wife is a flaming idiot.

Now tapping many women at the same time, that I can understand, not condoning it if you're reading this dear but I do understand. Marrying more than one, again.... idiot.

However what passes for marriage in these things is just stupid, it's a complete con, it's just a way to legitimize sleeping around and feel all religiously cool with it at the same time... Why not just call yourself a player and be done with it?

Probably cause they tried that and it didn't work so this is plan B.

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At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

~Abraham Lincoln Lyceum Address

krepitch

Good book for some background on fundamentalist Mormonism.

LoyaltyisaCurse

Reading this book makes you wonder how anybody would want to become a mormon, considering how is started.

Its pretty freaking

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Goin' "Double Maverick!"

Redrage

Hey, anyone ever notice that you never see Warren Jeffs and Osama Bin Laden at the same place at the same time.

PortlandCardFan

My sentiment exactly!

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All Hell is breakin loose!!!!!

An unarmed person is a subject. An armed person is a citizen.

40yearfan

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“So I became a newspaperman. I hated to do it but I couldn’t find honest employment.” —Mark Twain