SocraticGadfly: Texas officials ‘admit’ FLDS call was hoax

May 03, 2008

Texas officials ‘admit’ FLDS call was hoax

The Texas Department of Public Safety has dropped an arrest warrant for Dale Barlow.

He is the 50-year-old man that Colorado Springs, Colo., prank phone caller Rozita Swinton claimed sexually abused her in Eldorado, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ West Texas compound/commune.

Colorado court records show the calls made to a San Angelo domestic violence shelter were made from prepaid mobile phones previously used by Swinton, who has been charged with making a false report in Colorado and is on probation there for a similar offense.

But, the boys at DPS refuse to say why they dropped the warrant, let alone that the bogus phone call is the reason why the warrant never should have been filed in the first place. DPS spokesman Tom Vinger did admit Swinton is still “a person of interest.”

Hmmm, what’s that I smell? The first Eldorado lawsuit? For wrongful arrest?

Meanwhile, this issue is now going interstate. Texas claims statutory rape charges could be pending based on the age of girls/young women at Eldorado; it is pretty much refusing to accept sect members’ claims, and paperwork, on the women’s ages.

So, they’re fighting back:
In Utah, members of the polygamous church have asked the state’s governor to intervene in its fight with Texas authorities over the custody the children.

A letter written by FLDS elder Willie Jessop says Texas officials are rejecting Utah-issued birth certificates and other documents as “fake.”

The letter asks Gov. Jon Huntsman to exercise his executive authority to assist in protecting the civil rights of native Utahns and FLDS members. FLDS parents claim they have been denied their due process by the Texas courts.

“Without your leadership and personal intervention in this matter, the parental rights of every Utah family is at risk,” Jessop wrote.

Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelly said the governor has been in contact with Jessop and was reviewing his request.

Speaking of governors, our own Gov. Helmethair, Rick Perry, continues to be hugely AWOL on this issue.

Perry remains AWOL despite testimony at a Texas Senate hearing that
A. Much more manpower and resources are needed; and
B. This could take years to sort out.

Why? As I’ve said before, it’s a religious liberty issue, and he’s running scared from the Christian Religious Right.

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