Op-Ed: Utah, Arizona Authorities Warn 'Be On The Lookout for FLDS Enforcers'

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The latest, from the Deseret News:

"Texas police have been standing guard outside the home of the Texas judge who ordered the removal of all the FLDS children from the YFZ Ranch."

The heightened security was ordered after authorities from Utah and Arizona warned them to be on the lookout for FLDS "enforcers," the Deseret News has learned.

Every officer guarding Judge Barbara Walther's San Angelo house was provided dossiers and photos of 16 FLDS men and women whom Utah police deemed a threat. However, e-mails obtained by the Deseret News from the Washington County Sheriff's Office warned Texas authorities to be suspicious of everybody, not just those on the list.

"There are many individuals who are willing to give up their life for the cause and you can never underestimate what a religious fanatic is capable of," according to the e-mails, which were obtained through Texas' public records law.

Police were also keeping close tabs on witnesses, as the "enforcers" might try to "intimidate kids and other witnesses, watch foster homes where kids may be placed, bribe witnesses, appear at court hearings, and make attempts to contact FLDS kids," according to an e-mail from an investigator with the Tom Green County District Attorney's Office.

You can read a lot more at the Deseret article linked above.

A lot of it sounds very familiar.

Sixteen FLDS members have been deemed a threat, but the Washington County Sheriff's Office warned Texas authorities to be suspicious of everybody.

To date, none of the sixteen have done anything even close to illegal. At least nothing that hasn't been ruled on already.

"Have they ever seen an act of intimidation or violence against law enforcement from the FLDS community at all, ever?" (FLDS lawyer) Rod Parker told the Deseret News. "Before they start spreading those kinds of rumors, they ought to be able to ID an example of them ever doing that in the past."

And many on the FLDS 'enforcer list' have made very vehement public denials of the accusations.

Several other high-ranking church officials show up in the dossiers, like William E. Jessop, a high-ranking elder in the FLDS Church, and David Allred, who is involved in the church's finances and is "fairly high in the FLDS pecking order." However, the dossiers said the men were unlikely to be considered a threat, but could be involved in the decision-making process because of their positions of power.

Both Willie Jessop and Parker, who has also acted as a spokesman for the church, discounted the dossiers.

"If they are going to malign people's character like that, they ought to have something better than someone staring at somebody or looking at them funny," Parker said. "This is the same kind of rumor-mongering that I've been complaining about for a long time. These rumors tend to feed on themselves."

In this DJ's humble opinion, this is just more demonizing of the FLDS for political points. It also shows desperation.

Not one violent act has been committed by an FLDS member since the seizure of 461 kids from the YFZ ranch back in early April, and methinks if any were to have happened, they would have happened during the San Angelo proceedings, not in the wake of stupendous FLDS court victories over CPS and the State of Texas.

So, on top of being child rapists and just general bad 'religious fanatics', now they're the FLDS version of Albert Anastasia's Murder Incorporated.

Texas already had their shot at them.

I guess it's Utah's and Arizona's turn now.

What next? Dunk tanks?