Justice Dept. to sue polygamous towns along Utah-Arizona border

SALT LAKE CITY – An attorney for local law enforcement in two polygamous towns along the Utah-Arizona border says the U.S. Justice Department plans to sue both communities, claiming religious discrimination.

Lawyer Blake Hamilton tells The Associated Press the Justice Department informed him Thursday of the pending civil rights lawsuit against the towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

Hamilton says the suit claims religious discrimination against non-sect members. Most residents are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, run by the group's jailed leader Warren Jeffs. He is serving a life sentence in Texas after convictions on child sex and bigamy charges.

The expected lawsuit comes after Legislatures in Utah and Arizona failed to pass bills to abolish the local police department for the communities.