• NASDAQ +19.98
• DOW
• S&P 500 +7.03

• 1 CAD = 0.9653 USD

Yesterday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee was a one-sided theatrical display designed to arouse prejudice against a minority religious culture.

 

The opening statements made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were the most blatant example of the biased, inflammatory rhetoric that permeated the hearing. With total disregard for the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven, Senator Reid stereotyped all polygamous communities in the United States as being guilty of “lawless conduct” requiring “national attention and federal action… to curtail their pervasive pattern of criminal behavior.” Reid set the stage for others, such as Senator Orin Hatch, to try to distance the FLDS from the mainstream LDS Church by referring to the Mormon observance of Pioneer Day on the same day as the hearings and castigating “those who have wrongfully cloaked themselves in the trappings of our religion to obscure their true criminal purposes.”

 

It is ironic that Senator Reid is determined to vilify the very people who are preserving the traditions of the Mormon pioneers he pretends to honor. If Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Orson Pratt, and other leaders of the Mormon pioneers were to appear on the scene today, they would be right at home among the FLDS people, but Senator Reid would be in the lead of those stirring up hatred and inciting the federal government to send a new “Johnston’s Army” to make war on the lawless Mormons.

 

Although Reid does not mention the FLDS Church by name, previous statements regarding the hearing and numerous references by other speakers make it obvious that this much-maligned people is the main target of Reid’s remarks. He makes a special effort to portray the FLDS as a “form of organized crime” and names problems with actual organized crime that he faced as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. His only purpose in bringing up this earlier experience is to imply that the FLDS are guilty of such crimes as “extortion, embezzlement, fraud, public corruption, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering” that he attributes to the mob bosses controlling the Las Vegas casinos. For the same reason he refers to the death threats he faced and his concern for the safety of his family.

 

It goes without saying that the peace-loving FLDS people have never been involved in such activities. Reid repeats the familiar charge that “teen and pre-teen girls are forced to marry older men and bear their children.” It is very convenient that the Schleicher County grand jury met just two days before the Senate hearing so that there could be a few indictments to point to. But be it remembered that indictments are only accusations, not verdicts of guilt. The reality is that the dozens of teenage mothers claimed by CPS to justify the April raid on the YFZ community dwindled to almost nothing as one woman after another was certified as an adult. There are absolutely no pre-teen mothers, but the allegation makes a good rallying point for public indignation. (See “Underage Marriage”)

 

Reid also refers to “welfare fraud, tax evasion, massive corruption and strong-arm tactics to maintain the status quo” and claims that his proposed federal task force is needed “to deal with the broad pattern of criminal behavior perpetrated by polygamists.” Because, he claims, “these organizations routinely threaten, harass, and tamper with victims planning on testifying against them, it is necessary to provide targeted funds so that law enforcement can protect them and, if necessary, shield their identity.” This statement is another vicious attempt to portray peaceful citizens as criminals. After the April raid on the YFZ community, the women and children had ample opportunity to report abuse if any of them had considered themselves to be victims. Without exception, every mother and child wanted to return home. After children were separated from their mothers, CPS workers tried to make it appear that many mothers feared to return to the Ranch by telling them that they stood a much better chance of seeing their children again if they went to a shelter. The women and children were victims all right, but the only abuse they suffered was at the hands of the state of Texas.

 

Without using the extreme inflammatory language of Senator Reid, other officials followed the same pattern of implying that the FLDS people are guilty of numerous crimes. Gregory Brower, the United States Attorney for Nevada, detailed the responsibility of various federal agencies for investigating a catalog of crimes, such as “mail, wire, and financial institution fraud, fraud involving federal programs, false claims cases, health care fraud…, credit card fraud…, crimes involving the mails…, crimes involving weapons and explosives…, federal civil rights violations, arson, and… threats communicated by mail, telephone, or Internet.” Ironically, Brower mentions that it is “a felony to interfere with another’s free exercise of religion by force or threats of force.” The FLDS are well known as a peaceful people, but were the appropriate statutes enforced, the federal government would be setting itself up to join Texas in felony violations of civil rights.

 

Brett Tolman, United States Attorney for Utah, also follows the same pattern of enumerating crimes. He mentions that his office and other federal agencies have investigated “allegations that crimes such as sexual exploitation of children, fraud, structuring financial transactions to avoid Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements, drug trafficking, and violent crimes… were being committed by members of various polygamist groups in Utah.” What he does not say, but needs to say, is that if any of these crimes were discovered at all, there certainly was no pervasive pattern justifying the federal task force Harry Reid is requesting.

 

As predicted, the hearing included only testimony from witnesses opposed to the FLDS. Had such outrageous profiling been used against Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, Muslims, or any other minority group, there would have been a public outcry. But when any group is allowed to be stereotyped as the FLDS were by the very government officials who should be protecting Constitutional rights, how safe are any of us? (See “’Targeting the FLDS”)