An estimated 10,000 FDLS members under the control of Warren Jeffs. ibid.
The State of Texas vs Warren S Jeffs July 2011: ‘The trial of Warren Jeffs was as bizarre as anything I have ever seen.’ Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil, Mike Watkiss, reporter, CI 2018
‘Warren Jeffs is a monster.’ ibid. critic
His crime: the sexual assault of two minors. Some allege the number is much higher. Yet he remains the Prophet of his devoted followers. Warren has an estimated 78 wives. ibid. captions
Polygamy has been practised by Fundamentalist Mormons for generations. ibid.
‘Warren Jeffs was absolutely abusing children from the get-go.’ ibid. victim
‘I was eight years old when he started his abuse … He couldn’t help himself.’ ibid. victim daughter
‘Keep Sweet mask – look at the eyes though.’ ibid. Flora Jessop
‘This guy is a conniving rat who seized power.’ ibid. Watkiss
‘Anyone who stood in his way he eliminated.’ ibid. victim
In March 2005 the State of Arizona convenes a grand jury to investigate the FLDS and Warren Jeffs. ibid.
‘Warren established a very effective social architecture to deal with getting rid of the boys.’ ibid. Watkiss
‘I have been the most wicked man.’ ibid. Jeffs’ temporary bout of conscience, later recanted
‘The 55-year-old Jeffs will be eligible for parole in 35 years. Jeffs’ led a radical offshoot of the Mormon church; his 10,000 followers see him as God’s spokesman on Earth.’ Cults and Extreme Belief s1e2: FLDS, news report
As part of the media firestorm that followed Warren Jeffs’ conviction, several other victims have come forward with abuse allegations. ibid. caption
Jeffs has also been publicly accused of rape by two of his own children. ibid.
‘If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree.’ ibid. Jeffs’ diary entry 25 January 2004
A quarter of all men in the UAE have at least two wives. And keeping them all happy can be costly. Inside Dubai: Playground for the Rich II, BBC 2022
Ephesians 5:22: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey I, Netflix 2022
When I was 14 they forced me to marry my cousin. I asked Warren, begged him. ibid. victim
Warren Jeffs is the leader of a secretive religion called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Church of Latter-Day Saints. ibid. News
We didn’t go to movies, we didn’t go to game parks… ibid. victim
We were told that our prophet Rulon Jeffs would never die. ibid.
Rulon Jeffs was 85 when I married him. And I was 19. ibid.
They didn’t let us work, they didn’t let us go to school … ibid.
Keep sweet no matter what is the road to perfection. ibid. prophet
You couldn’t get close to Warren. He had this holier than thou attitude. ibid. brother
Anything that had an outside influence was purged. ibid. victim
We needed to be more perfect. We need to be more obedient. And it was never enough. We were never good enough. ibid.
Rulon Jeffs: All of his wives. 65 of them. ibid.
Warren Jeffs … The man who could take them into heaven. So the stakes for them are eternal … He manipulated their beliefs and turned it into money and power and sex. And they ended up following him right off the cliff. ibid.
Who marries your mom? Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey II, victim
Warren Jeffs was kicking young boys out of the FDLS. Literally leaving them homeless. They were just trying to survive on the streets. ibid.
Nobody owned their own homes. They were all owned by the church. ibid. investigator
There are now growing concerns for those children in this polygamist town. ibid. TV news
I felt like the world was caving in on me. And I was so scared. ibid.
They know that if they’re leaving, they’re leaving their family. And that’s really hard to do. ibid. man
Warren knows they’re coming for him eventually … He dropped off the face of the earth. Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey III, investigator
We’re in a benevolent dictatorship, he called it. ibid. Victim
Large families being taken apart like children’s toys. ibid. TV news
Yearning for Zion Ranch, El Dorado, Texas: It became his grooming ground for underage brides. ibid.
Warren had gone on the lam and we didn’t know where he was … He was out living it up. ibid.
Farewell, forever, ye who are worthy for Zion. For I will not be there. Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey IV, Warren on prison dog-n-bone to brother
Please don’t do this. I don’t know what you’re doing. ibid. victim on stand
At that moment I felt this intense release of emotion and energy. ibid. victim
September 2007: He was up for about ten years. Better than nothing. ibid. Mike Watkiss
We went ahead and did a welfare check on this girl. We went out to the ranch. ibid. welfare arrive
There were three-four-five-hundred kids out there. And suddenly Texas had a tiger by its tail. ibid. law
Oh that princess production voice! … Just keep sweet. ibid. victim
No underage brides? It was absolutely infuriating. ibid.
In the execution of this sort of over the top very aggressive police action, suddenly it pits heavily armed SWAT-dressed teams against prairie-dressed moms and their little kids. The optics are not good. ibid. Mike Watkiss
We found some winding stairs … another inner room … and we discovered a bed in there ... and it was very white. ibid. rozzer
Now the world can finally see how sick and devious this guy was. Warren Jeffs is a monster. ibid.
I heard the voices of some of the sister wives there while Warren raped this little girl. ibid. Victim
Warren Jeffs facing a new trial on sex crime charges. ibid.
They played that tape in front of those jurors. ibid. Mike Watkiss
At the punishment phase of the trial … Warren was involved in conducting the marriages of 67 underage girls to FDLS men. And Warren had himself 78 wives; 24 of those wives were underage. ibid.