Jurors hear arguments at trial against polygamous cities

PHOENIX – Officials from two communities in Arizona and Utah held closed-door meetings in which they routinely took orders from the leaders of a polygamous sect about whom to appoint to government jobs, a U.S. Justice Department lawyer said during closing arguments Wednesday at a trial in which the cities are accused of doing the church's bidding.

Officials in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, would then rubber-stamp decisions that had already been made by leaders from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Justice Department attorney Sean Keveney said. The towns also denied water hookups and made trumped-up trespassing arrests of people who had left the church, he said.

"How did we get to this in the United States of America?" Keveney asked jurors at the civil rights trial that began seven weeks ago.

The federal government accuses the cities of functioning as agents of the sect and discriminating against nonbelievers by denying them housing, water services and police protection. The towns deny the allegations.

The case marks one of the boldest efforts by the government to confront what critics have said was a corrupt regime in both towns. It also provided a rare glimpse into towns that for decades have been shrouded in secrecy and are distrustful of government and outsiders.

Colorado City attorney Jeff Matura said the federal government is persecuting town officials because it disapproves of their religion. He urged jurors to reject the discrimination claims. "Who is discriminating against whom?" Matura asked, arguing the federal government has not proven its claims.

Hildale attorney Blake Hamilton is scheduled to make closing arguments later Wednesday.

Dowayne Barlow, a former aide to sect Bishop Lyle Jeffs, and Willie Jessop, the former head of church security, were in the courtroom gallery to hear closing arguments. Both men are now critics of the church and testified earlier on behalf of the federal government.

Keveney told jurors that imprisoned sect leader Warren Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting his underage brides, issues orders on city affairs from a Texas prison. He said lawyers for Jeffs sneak his coded messages out of prison and that others then carry out the orders.

He cited letters written by town employees to Jeffs while the church leader was a fugitive. In one letter, Colorado City's mayor asked for Jeffs' opinion on whom to hire as a new police chief, Keveney said.

The Justice Department lawyer said the Colorado City Marshal's Office ignored the problem of men who were church members marrying underage girls and widespread food-stamp fraud. In a separate case made public last week, several church leaders were indicted on food-stamp fraud charges.

Matura spoke skeptically about the Justice Department's allegation that Jeffs is still running the church and towns, even though he has been locked up in solitary confinement since 2006. He said there were no recordings, letters or other evidence to back up the claim that Jeffs was directing town affairs after he was taken into custody.