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A decade after the arrest of polygamous prophet Warren Jeffs, insiders say his church has literally become a place of feast or famine, of haves and have-nots. Prison has done little to loosen Jeffs' hold on many of his followers, even if he is now a convicted child-sex offender serving a life sentence. They still await his revelations and follow his directives, both difficult and bizarre. But some members are leaving the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - and disobeying their prophet's longstanding orders to avoid law enforcement and "answer them nothing." These FLDS outcasts are talking...

You don't have to be a supporter of Warren Jeffs to object to the Federal Government prosecuting "The Creek" - Colorado City and Hildale, for denying basic municipal services to non-believers of the Fundamentalist LDS. Their personal crimes will be punished eventually. Why don't the feds go after the criminal governments of Flint and Chicago?

Warren Jeffs, the polygamous sect leader and convicted child rapist, is in a coma and may not survive, a source close to Jeffs tells ABC News. Jeffs, 55, had been fasting for the past three days and became so weak that doctors at the Texas prison where he is serving a life sentence induced a coma, according to the source. The leader of a radical polygamist sect of Mormonism known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS), Jeffs is scheduled to go on trial a second time in October to face charges of...

Last week, a Texas jury convicted Warren Jeffs, leader of the polygamist FLDS Church, of two counts of child sexual assault...For Americans who are increasingly interested in the religion of the two Mormons running for president, Jeffs' conviction raises what could appear to be difficult questions about modern Mormonism. There is no formal connection between Jeffs' FLDS Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... From 1852 until 1890, however, the Mormon Church did publically teach and practice polygamy... Given that history, many Americans ask themselves whether Jeffs' cocktail of religious authority, polygamy and child sex represents some...

Investigators made no mention of child sex tapes, or seized photos of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs kissing young girls, after their April 2008 raid on the sect’s remote Texas compound. Instead, the public saw the televised spectacle of more than 400 children being bused from the ranch over an abuse hotline call that proved to be bogus. As Jeffs begins serving a life sentence, brought down by damning evidence seized at the ranch and finally revealed in court, the Texas Ranger who led the heavily scrutinized raid and investigation said he feels vindicated.

Fox 13 has obtained dozens of photographs of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs and many of his so-called "brides." -SNIP-The pictures were seized by law enforcement during the raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' YFZ ranch in Eldorado, Texas in 2008. In all, lawyers connected to the case have estimated that approximately 1.7 billion pages of evidence was taken in the raid.Combined with diaries, audio recordings and dictations, Texas prosecutors painted a damning portrait of the FLDS leader that they showed to the jury."If the world knew what I was doing they would hang...

Prosecutors seeking life in prison for convicted polygamist leader Warren Jeffs closed their case with a final barrage of graphic audiotapes, records of 24 alleged underage brides and writings that ordered followers to "fight to the death" when police eventually came for him. The same jury that convicted Jeffs last week of sexually assaulting two of his child "brides" could now hand down their punishment early as Tuesday. Even in prison, he could continue to lead the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Among the final pieces of evidence was an audiotape of Jeffs having sex and...

As a Texas jury considers a possible life sentence for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, a coalition of polygamist groups is condemning the sexual abuse that led to Jeffs' conviction. "We are alarmed that such depravity could have been perpetrated by anyone," says a written statement from the Principle Rights Coalition, a group representing five polygamist groups in Arizona and Utah, as well as "numerous other independent Fundamentalist Mormons." The groups advocate and practice polygamy as it was taught by early leaders of the Mormon Church, which renounced plural marriage in 1890 and does not tolerate it now. "It is especially...

A jury has found polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs guilty of child rape. Jeffs, the leader of a radical polygamist sect of Mormonism known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS), was found guilty of forcing two teenage girls into "spiritual marriage," and fathering a child with one of them when she was 15. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Jeffs, who acted as his own lawyer, called only one witness in his defense. The witness was a fellow member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter...

Polygamy Meets Big Brother The West Texas jury deciding the fate of polygamy cult leader Warren Jeffs listened through headphones to 21 minutes of heavy breathing yesterday. Some in the room wept. Others held their hands over their mouths. The X-rated recording, a cornerstone of the state’s child-sex-assault case, allegedly chronicled Jeffs’ encounter with a 12-year-old girl, an episode that ended with the self-proclaimed prophet declaring, “In Jesus Christ, amen.” The jurors heard an almost inaudible voice. “Amen,” echoed the child. It got worse. According to prosecutors, Jeffs and his new “celestial wife” were not alone. A dozen of his...

In a single dramatic hour Friday, the course of the San Angelo, Texas, trial against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs might have changed course. With a rambling outburst that included a malediction against the prosecutors, a defense of polygamy, and direct quotes from "the Lord God," Jeffs broke his prolonged silence in the trial, then continued to interrupt proceedings throughout the rest of the day. The outbursts could merely be a continuation of Mr. Jeffs's apparent legal tactic: delay. But they also have also effectively turned the courtroom into a pulpit for the leader of the breakaway Fundamentalist Church of...

Judge says polygamist leader can represent himself WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Updated 04:34 p.m., Thursday, July 28, 2011 SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs dismissed his high-powered defense team and began representing himself Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to delay the start of his sexual assault trial. With opening statements set to begin, the 55-year-old ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said he had spent extensive time training his lawyers, but they weren't able to present "a pure defense." He then pleaded for more time to prepare the case...

Warren Jeffs' Sexual Assault Trial Set To Start Monday By the CNN Wire Staff POSTED: Monday, July 25, 2011 UPDATED: 10:01 am EDT July 25, 2011 (CNN) -- Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs will begin in Texas on Monday, nearly a week after his motion to remove a judge assigned to him was denied. Jeffs is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of bigamy stemming from a 2008 raid on a ranch operated by his church. Authorities raided the Yearning For Zion ranch near Eldorado,...

  COLORADO CITY, AZ (ABC 4 News) - Polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs of the FLDS Church is sending "A Warning to the Nation" that catastrophe awaits unless he is freed and the FLDS people get back control of the land in the United Effort Plan Trust. 600 Packets This warning reportedly targets members of Congress and the Obama Administration. Several sources in Colorado City, Arizona say Jeffs' followers mailed more than 600 packets to Washington D. C. The packets contained not only the Jeffs' warning, but also a 900 page petition signed by approximately 13,500 followers of Warren Jeffs. Of...

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs faced a Texas judge Wednesday more than two years after authorities discovered his followers married underage girls at an Eldorado ranch, prompting the removal of 438 children, the largest child custody case in U.S. history. A wan Jeffs, 54, appeared before state District Judge Barbara Walther in San Angelo where he was arraigned on three charges involving two underage brides, unidentified girls who were 12 and 14 at the time of the alleged crimes. He's accused of sexually assaulting one girl in 2005 and committing bigamy and aggravated sexual assault with the other girl in...

College enrollment in a northern Arizona polygamous community has dropped more than 50 percent in the past five years -- a decrease a school official says is tied to a government center that shares the property. "We've had many, many people tell us they will not come to the college because of that," Chancellor Michael J. Kearns said. Mohave Community College in Colorado City, Ariz., is now asking the county officials to stop use of the multi-use facility that is home to police and social service agencies.

When an FLDS mother called to tell her 14-year-old daughter a judge had ordered her back into state custody, the girl cried steadily for seven hours. "Just me? Only me?" she asked her mother before dissolving into tears. Barbara Jessop is breaking her silence to describe the traumatic Tuesday separation from her daughter. The teen - allegedly married to sect leader Warren S. Jeffs in 2006 - is the only FLDS child now in state care. A videotape of her transfer in a state building parking lot shows the girl crying and holding her mother as Child Protective Services workers...

A Schleicher County grand jury today handed down three new felony indictments in the state's polygamist sect investigation, a court clerk said. Schleicher County District Clerk Peggy Williams said the indictments involve three individuals. It's unclear whether those individuals are new defendants or suspects already charged in the probe. The identities of those individuals were not immediately available. Neither were the actual charges listed in the indictments. The grand jury last month indicted six members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Court hearings for those individuals is scheduled for Sept. 8, authorities said. The grand jury...

State seeks to return eight children to foster care.

A spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was in state court Thursday to ask a judge if members can ultimately own their homes, now held by a state-managed church trust. ...... Judge Denise Lindberg on Thursday told Willie Jessop that under the newly revised trust managed by accountant Bruce Wisan, members can own their own homes, with some restrictions. She also sought to assure him there is no bias against the church in the management of the trust. ....... Until now the FLDS have operated on a directive from imprisoned church leader Warren Jeffs...