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It's in this episode of American Greed.
In a small secluded community where polygamy is practiced as a spiritual
two brothers, Warren and Lyle Jeffs, claim they are bringing the word of God
devoted followers.
These men were standing in a position as God's over us.
But God, it appears, is just a cover. And they were using the religion, they
were wrapping themselves in the religion to commit crimes.
For Warren, the crimes are against children.
This is about little girls being taken away from their parents, tied up, and
raped. And for Lyle, the crime is fraud.
Millions of dollars in taxpayers' money is stolen.
They bought a John Deere tractor and a Ford F -350 pickup truck.
And the FBI catches the scheme on tape. We're zooming in to capture their
license plate.
And the devoted followers, they say they are told to do the fraudster's dirty
work or else.
I knew it was illegal, but the kind of pressure that we were under, if you
didn't obey all the rules, you could lose your family.
Hidden below the red vermilion cliffs in southern Utah is a remote site, perfect
for people who want nothing more than to be left alone.
And so in the 1930s, fundamentalist Mormons come here and create a refuge
the Fundamentalist Church of Latter -day Saints, FLDS.
They want to be isolated in order to practice a way of life they believe is
sacred.
The practice of having multiple wives.
Polygamy.
They felt like they had to do it secretly and underground because it was
illegal, forbidden by the mainstream, looked down upon by the mainstream.
But over time, the need for secrecy lessens as church members build a
community in two towns bordering two states, Colorado City, Arizona and
Hilldale, Utah.
They call their home Short Creek.
It's where Dee Barlow grows up.
Short Creek was established on the basis of being able to find a place where you
could raise your family in a society that was away from the social evil and
bring your kids up in what is termed light and truth.
So we'll be crossing the state line in just a minute.
Willie Jessup also grows up in Short Creek.
at a time when polygamy was practiced openly.
Even the marriages and everything were quite transparent.
So if there was a marriage, everyone in the community would show up and support
it. Over time, FLDS members build successful businesses, primarily doing
construction outside of Short Creek.
And as those businesses make donations, the wealth of the church grows.
We were very highly motivated to be able to financially bankroll the church in
every need that it could, believing it was taking care of the most needy in
society. And we were, you know, making a difference for goodness for everyone.
But in 2002, a change comes to Short Creek.
At the time, the leader and prophet of the FLDS church is 92 -year -old Rulan
Jeffs.
Wallace Jeffs is his son.
When I grew up with my father, he only had eight wives, if you want to call it
only.
But when he died, he had 87 wives.
Brunan lives in Salt Lake City, where he claims he has a revelation from God
that Salt Lake will soon be destroyed.
And he commands all church members there to move to Short Creek, where they will
be safe.
They had this thing called the lifting up.
where everybody in Short Creek was going to be lifted up from the earth, piece
of land.
I mean, literally, a piece of land was going to be lifted up while the
destructions wiped the wicked of the earth off.
So we were down there for this lifting up.
But in Short Creek, Rulon dies.
Immediately, his son Warren declares that he is the new prophet, a position
extraordinary power.
As the prophet, he is the literal mouthpiece of God. So when he speaks
and he gives his revelations to the community, it is in the first
person of the deity of God.
And Warren's consistent message from God, even embedded in a chimney, is pray
and obey.
And as heard in this recording, the message comes with a threat.
But know this, great warning.
You are shut out of heaven forever unless you just obey
the prophet.
And soon, according to former members, Warren issues a litany of commandments.
He shut down all the dances and says, you know, we can't do this. It's
We can't be exposing our children to TV. You've got to get rid of rock and roll
music. We can't have socials and anything that's going to take your focus
God. The word fun was banned.
The word enjoyment was on a reduced basis.
Anything that was of a celebration style, holiday was just done away with,
including birthdays.
Some say it's his way of legitimizing his role.
That was the way he was trying to be recognized as the prophet by being the
that was the most holy, the most obedient, the most determined to bring
everybody into a religious perspective.
And Warren knows he's playing to a well -trained audience.
Brenda Nicholson grows up in the church and is taught that perfect obedience is
required for eternal salvation.
He basically was handed on a silver platter a group of people who had been
very carefully through generations groomed to accept
this place of being perfectly obedient.
But apparently obedience to the rules does not apply to Warren. For example,
recorded statements like this.
He controls his followers by ordering that all construction on Short Creek
be stopped.
And the projects are frozen.
But he has his own enormous compound built.
The size of an entire block for himself and his growing collection of wives.
Who are pictured in widely circulated photographs like this one.
showcasing adoration for Warren.
And no one questions the prophet.
He gets whatever he wants.
Warren had everything at his fingertips.
If he wanted a new car, he could get it. If he wanted a new personal bodyguard,
he had it there.
He was a man of means.
And he is a man with secrets to protect.
And so he needs absolute control of every man, woman, and child in Short
And that is what he gets on a Saturday morning in January 2004 in the church
meeting house.
That morning, Warren declares that 21 men, all long -standing leaders in the
church, are master deceivers and excommunicates them all.
They must leave Short Creek immediately.
It was just devastating.
It's like taking everything up by the roots, ripping it up by the roots.
I call it one of the dark days of Short Creek because it took the pillars of our
community and wiped them out.
In months to come, the expulsion of men from the church becomes almost routine.
Even some of Warren's brothers are banished.
When they called me, I figured this was it, but I had no idea why.
And they don't tell you why.
They just say, Warren, the prophet says you are not worthy.
The husbands who are kicked out are told they are no longer fit to be fathers to
their children.
That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.
Yeah, you have to go back. You have to tell your family that you're not worthy.
You're not worthy of them.
When you lose everything.
Literally, all you leave with is a shirt on your back.
There's a physical pain that comes with that that is excruciating.
You can't even explain it, but it's an anguish that
creates a physical pain that's unexplainable.
And now, under the constant threat of expulsion, No one would dare cross
Jeffs. In almost no time, he has made an extremely effective grab for power. And
with power comes money. The opportunity to do whatever he wants.
Up next on American Greed, the prophet's secrets exposed.
Mr. Jeffs, did you rape those two girls?
In Short Creek, there is a story that every child learns early.
The story of the raid on July 26, 1953.
On that day, the Arizona State Police come into town and arrest most of the
adults. They take more than 200 children into custody.
The reason?
Reports of underage marriage.
In the end, little comes of the raid.
But in Short Creek, there is a heightened fear of the outside world.
And 50 years later, Short Creek's mistrust of outsiders plays beautifully
Warren Jeff's hands.
You know, they're always telling you any, you know, the Gentiles would love
nothing more than to come in here and destroy us.
Warren says that threats from the outside world are the reason members
their children out of public schools.
The reason members are not allowed to associate with non -members called
Gentiles. It's why streets in Short Creek are lined with walls.
But are the walls there to protect members or to hide the secrets of the
leaders? This created a perfect environment for people to look at
that it was an outside threat without recognizing that what he was doing is he
was using this secrecy.
for some very sinister and evil purposes.
And those sinister and evil purposes begin to come to light when a young
member, Elissa Wall, steps forward.
But I have followed my heart, and I've spoken the truth.
Claiming that at age 14, she is forced into marrying her cousin by Warren
This was the first time that we ever had anybody who would...
inside the community come out and be willing to testify as to what had
inside. Warren is charged with rape as an accomplice. His eventual conviction
overturned for errors in jury instruction.
But as law enforcement closes in, Warren assures his followers that he is above
the law.
He says no person, no court, no government can question what God has him
And then he runs away.
He leaves his younger brother Lyle in charge of Short Creek.
Lyle was very cocky, very proud, self -centered, just
not a real kind person.
And Lyle makes it clear he too is above the law as he helps Warren evade
capture.
They did the best they could to obstruct justice in every way possible.
But in August of 2006, Warren is arrested near Las Vegas in a routine
stop. He has $50 ,000 in cash and assorted disguises.
But the discovery that causes his downfall comes later, when law
finds photographs like these.
They provide dramatic evidence in court of Warren Jeffs' sexual experiences with
child brides only 12 and 14 years old.
And with that, the most holy prophet Warren Jeffs is charged with sexually
assaulting children.
The story is national news.
Mr. Jeffs, did you rape those two girls?
Mr. Jeffs? I was walking through a truck stop.
And I saw a news article that showed Warren kissing this 12
-year -old girl.
I knew this girl very well. I knew how old she was.
I knew who she was.
And I just remember seeing that picture and
thinking, I could be one of my daughters.
But in Short Creek, former members say people aren't allowed to get their news
from only one source,
Lyle Jeffs.
The people were told, don't go to the television, don't go to the newspapers,
don't find any other news source, but let Lyle become your source of
information. Remember the 1953 raid, they are told.
This is what the government does.
Warren is a martyr.
I thought he was the greatest man on earth and he had been wrongfully
He was in prison because of the lies of apostates.
Willie Jessup, as a faithful FLDS member, is so eager to prove Warren's
innocence, he interviews the girls, learning the horrifying truth.
The government isn't lying.
Warren is.
The greatest betrayal of my life. And I never saw it coming. I've never cried
harder in my life, and I've never been sicker in my life.
And Warren is not alone.
Other church leaders are convicted on charges related to underage marriages.
But now, for Jessup, the claim of government persecution of Warren no
rings true.
This isn't about consensual marriages.
This isn't about plural marriage. This is about little girls being taken away
from their parents, tied up, and raped.
And there is no way to put any frosting on it. This is horrific, graphic,
horrible acts.
against innocent people.
Up next on American Greed, in Short Creek, greed is in charge.
It has nothing to do with God. It has nothing to do with religion, pride,
control, and money.
In 2011, just outside Palestine, Texas, Warren Jeffs is in a state prison
serving a sentence of life plus 20 years after being convicted of sexually
assaulting children.
It's easy to believe that the bad guy has been put away and all will be well.
If he was truly the only problem when he was imprisoned, everything would have
changed.
And it didn't.
Warren continues to issue commandments from his prison cell that are obeyed.
All children's toys must be destroyed.
Internet access is forbidden.
He seems to be as powerful as ever. But in reality, the person keeping Warren in
power is his brother, Lyle.
Lyle tells people that he speaks for Warren.
I am the only person now that can save you. Warren's in jail.
I'm the closest thing to Warren you people will ever see.
And he started marketing himself as a Warren.
And that works out very well for Lyle.
He is living in a huge house inside the walled Jeff's family compound with his
multiple wives.
He owns a mobile home worth more than $100 ,000.
And that is just one option for his transportation.
He has every vehicle that he could ever want right at his fingertips, including
very high -end cars, Infinities, Audis, vehicles that he traveled
around in constantly in the community.
For Lyle, it appears God is out and greed is in. Pride and greed.
Absolutely. That's all it is. It has nothing to do with God. It has nothing
do with religion, pride, control, and money.
Agents at the FBI agree.
Lyle and a few others, they say, are not running a church.
They are running a criminal enterprise.
They were basically like wolves in sheep's clothing. They were using their
religion. They were wrapping themselves in their religion to commit crimes.
Obstructing justice by using local police to spy on residents.
Children are ordered out of school to work long hours on church projects.
And the FBI receives widespread allegations of fraud.
And even then I remember thinking, if we're God's people, why do we have
to lie and commit fraud? Why doesn't he provide for us?
And now cash coming into the church goes to projects that defy reason.
Life of Warren Jeffs says he will be released from jail if the members build
a palatial residence and Lyle makes sure the multi -million dollar walled palace
is built.
But much of the money, tens of millions of dollars, goes to build new secret
communities in Colorado and South Dakota, places they call lands of
Places reserved for people loyal to Lyle and Warren.
So now it went from a religion about taking care of the poor and the needy
helping those that needed it. 100 % of everything was how can you make the
more powerful, more strong, using the name of religion, but it had nothing to
with the poor and the sick.
And where do the multiple millions of dollars for Warren and Lyle's projects
come from?
Short Creek.
Business owners are tapped to the point of bankruptcy.
The businesses just were not able to keep up with the demands, and some of
had to fold. But eventually, the squeeze always ends up on the members, who are
told to give till it hurts and then give some more.
We were barely surviving, but, you know, they put it across as what matters
more? You know, the destructions could come any day.
Don't you think you're going to wish you had somewhere to be? You need to show
your support.
So we did.
And there is also the constant threat that if you don't pay up, you will get
kicked out.
Basically, it is if you didn't come through and tumble in and make your
contributions, then you're putting your family and you at risk.
Certainly as a father, you're putting yourself at risk to lose your family.
But no matter how much people give, there is never enough money.
And so in 2011, a plan is implemented to take literally everything from the
people of Short Creek.
Church leaders announced that Warren is requiring the implementation of his
interpretation of a 19th century Mormon practice of sharing goods. It's called
the United Order.
What that meant is everyone had to consecrate everything that they had been
given here, all their earthly possessions, all their income,
be donated to the church.
So you virtually own nothing. Everything that you have, that you are in control
of, you're actually a steward for.
The church controls everything.
But the idea sold to the community is that this is a way to share resources.
And they brought it up as this is this amazing thing.
This was leveling the playing field. Everyone was going to be more equal. And
actually felt really bad for the people who had gotten accustomed to living like
kings because it was going to be a sacrifice for them. For me, it was going
be, you know, I was looking forward to actually having more.
But as with everything with the Jeffs, there is a catch.
To participate in the United Order, you have to qualify.
Up next on American Greed, how far Lyle will go.
So we would go home and having not much to feed our children.
Literally, we were starving.
In December 2011, almost 10 years after Warren Jeffs became the FLDS prophet,
Short Creek is under the full control of his brother, Lyle Jeffs.
Under the rule of Lyle Jeffs, a security conscious environment progressed to
what I would consider a security state.
Everywhere you went, you were being watched.
It's something on your mind 24 -7.
Are my boys going to be okay?
You know, if one day you see them with their sleeves rolled up, you about have
heart attack because are they going to be seen as naughty boys and get kicked
out or sent away?
Lyle continues to banish fathers.
And according to federal law enforcement, on occasion, he even takes
himself and their money.
All he did was come in off the...
as a pariah and as a leech off of people that had been kicked out and millions
of dollars of their assets were shifted over to him. He's now sleeping with
their wives and impregnating them, living in their homes.
And now Lyle and two cohorts will be the ones to decide who is worthy of joining
the new echelon in the church called the United Order.
We were told these men were standing in a position as...
You know, God's over us to a degree. You know, God would whisper to them if you
were worthy.
And God's whisper for Brenda is that three of her six children are worthy.
Her husband and the three others are not.
This was it. This was everything riding on this decision.
And then she says her worthy daughter shares what she has learned at a
She said Uncle Lyle said that God gave this revelation.
And so the worthies are no longer allowed to live with the unworthies. She
so they're going to take us away. We can't live with you anymore.
And I can't quite describe what that felt like inside of me.
But no one is taking Brenda Nicholson's children.
And so in the middle of the night, her family packs up and leaves Short Creek
for good.
I knew there was a good chance I'd never get to see or talk to my
mother or my siblings again.
At the same time, Dee Barlow is asked to be on the committee that will decide
which worthy families will get which worthy children.
And for Barlow, that is too much.
He decides he also must leave Short Creek.
Because I felt like I had eternal consequences.
That to fuss around in the life of children, and especially that very
connection with parents, I have a personal honor system. It was not
going to be looked on with any degree of mercy.
Because everything that we have is about family.
It's about children.
But apparently for Lyle...
It's about money.
And now he is insisting that everyone in the new United Order take inventory of
all their possessions and turn them over to a church warehouse called the
storehouse, where he says they will be available to all. Some of those.
Asset sheets were over 300 pages of lined paper on both sides, naming out
pin, every shoe, every spare shoelace, their pairs of glasses, their contacts,
and they were required to go and submit that to Lyle Jeffs.
At this point, many do not have much to give.
With so many fathers kicked out, Short Creek is one of the poorest communities
in Utah.
The father was the cornerstone of the providing for the families. And so now
of a sudden you have an abundant women and children without an income provider.
And those women and children qualify for government help, which comes in the
form of supplemental nutrition assistance called SNAP benefits, also
food stamps.
The Short Creek area during this time frame consisted of about 6 ,000 people,
and we determined that there were approximately 2 ,700 snap card holders
area. And that means there is big money in food stamps, and Lyle wants it.
He calls everyone together to explain his scheme.
Cheryl Barlow is Dee's wife, who stays behind when Dee leaves Short Creek.
We were told to attend storehouse training meetings, and in those
and those that he told, instructed, would tell us how to use our food stamps
cards. Members are told to spend their monthly food stamp allocation at two
convenience stores, not to buy food, but to make a donation to the church.
I knew it was illegal, but the kind of pressure that we were under,
It was, if you didn't obey all the rules, you could lose your family.
Shirley Draper runs a social service agency in Short Creek.
We're talking about families that did not have money to pay for health care.
They didn't have money to, you know, even buy clothing or anything. And then
they're told they also have to hand over their snack cards.
And so even their food is now in peril.
And that means that for some, Lyle has now gone too far.
And they make a call to the FBI.
For the first time in decades, we had these witnesses that were coming forward
and giving us firsthand knowledge of things like public corruption and crimes
against children and fraud that was occurring.
As the agents begin their investigation...
They see that two small FLDS -controlled convenience stores are processing
enormous food stamp transactions.
It was an incredible fraud flag. If you have a $4 ,500 transaction at the
counter of a small convenience store, that raises eyebrows.
What are you buying for $4 ,500 at a convenience store?
And so the FBI installs surveillance cameras outside and inside the stores.
And over hundreds of hours of video, they watch Lyle's suspected fraud
Up next on American Greed, while members are starving... Lyle Jeffs had a
personal chef, and his personal chef prepared him steak and lobster and
scallops. Hear how Lyle Jeffs evades the FBI on AmericanGreed .CNBC
.com.
Want inside information from the show?
Join the Greed Social Network.
Like us on American Greed's Facebook page.
We'll be right back.
By 2015, every day in Short Creek, families on food stamps head to an FLDS
-controlled store to donate their government benefits to their church.
And the FBI is watching every step they take.
These are very faithful people that are walking in and consecrating their money,
believing that all of that money is going to the storehouse and that they're
benefiting themselves and their neighbors.
Once inside, the clerk hands the church member a list of items that the
storehouse needs.
But that's, it's just smoke and mirrors. It's just to give the people donating
the feeling that they are contributing.
And then the customer hands over her food stamp card, known as an EBT card,
like a credit or debit card.
And in that fast transaction, she has given money she needs to feed her family
to Lyle Jeffs.
In this case, the customer turns over $2 ,600 and leaves the store without a
single item of food.
The amount of food that you could buy even for a large family would sustain
family throughout the month.
After making their donation, church members expect that they can go to the
storehouse and pick up whatever they need.
But that is not true.
thought we had contributed, there was nothing there. So we would go home and
having not much to feed our children.
Literally, we were starving.
And so if food stamp funds are not going to fill the storehouse with food, where
does that money go?
Federal prosecutors say it goes straight into the control of Lyle Jeffs and his
friends.
They used it to buy things other than food. They bought a John Deere tractor,
Ford F -350 pickup truck. They spent a million dollars on farming supplies,
principally grain for cattle, not food for human beings to eat.
Prosecutors estimate the fraud brings in more than $11 million.
And a significant amount of the money goes to those privileged lands of refuge
in Colorado and South Dakota, which at all costs must be kept secret.
The leaders of the church didn't want scrutiny into those communities.
There was an edict that those persons couldn't participate in food stamps. And
so food stamp money from Shore Creek had to be diverted to those communities so
they could subsist.
And that leaves the people in Short Creek in desperate shape.
It was very difficult as a mother to watch my kids go without,
to have a little child come and ask for food, and I had nothing to give him.
Eventually, Cheryl takes a risk.
She secretly buys snacks and hides them.
And there was one point that the caretaker of the home took me aside.
and told me that I could lose my children. For me to use those EBT
buy food for my children, I could lose my children and be sent away.
Families like the Barlows make do with meager meals, but Lyle appears to be
feeling no pain.
He has access to whatever he wants in the storehouse.
He had keys to it, and there were witness accounts where those...
Family members of Lyle's household would go after hours to the storehouse and
pick off the shelves whatever they needed, whatever they wanted, bring it
Their shelves were always stocked. Their refrigerator was always full.
While the other members starved and did not have the food they needed, the
nutrition that they needed, they were living off of rice and ketchup.
Lyle Jeffs had a personal chef and his personal chef prepared him steak and
lobster and scallops. And he lived very, very well.
But Lyle's lobster eating days are numbered.
In February 2016, the FBI is ready.
Agents surround the FLDS stores and take the final evidence for the case.
Church members who donated their benefits are not charged.
But 11 church leaders are indicted on conspiracy charges of food stamp fraud
money laundering.
And the one who matters most to the FBI is Lyle Jett.
We wanted Lyle because he was the guy that was doing all the evil in the
community, and he was the one directing others to do these heinous acts.
And so while the...
The food stamp case wasn't the sexiest from a law enforcement standpoint. It
still a very meaningful thing to us because underlying that was the fact
people were starving.
Prosecutors argue that Lyle should remain in custody.
We considered the fact that Warren Jeffs had fled, and we were
fairly convinced that if given a chance that Lyle Jeffs would flee.
And the judge gives Lyle that chance.
Placed in home confinement, Lyle maneuvers his ankle monitor off.
And just as Warren had done years before, he runs away.
We had very little leads. He fled in the middle of the night. He had 24 hours or
more head start on us.
But before he leaves, he receives personal direction from Warren.
telling Lyle to resume his duties in Short Creek.
Warren just told him to not fear law enforcement, that he would be protected,
and that he needed to just do what was told.
And that was to go and handle United Order matters back in Short Creek,
the bishop again.
But Lyle is afraid, and he makes a fateful decision.
Disobey the prophet.
Up next on American Greed.
Justice for Lyle.
Here he is going from living a multimillion -dollar lifestyle to
Leatherman to get a hamburger.
For almost a year, the FBI pursues Lyle Jeffs across the country, running down
tips and following leads.
We did our best in the very beginning to try to locate him and find him, but we
were always a little too far behind, a little too late.
The agents eventually put out a $50 ,000 reward, and that pays off.
In July 2017, in Yankton, South Dakota, the owner of a pawn shop calls local
police to say wanted fugitive Lyle Jeffs just pawned a Leatherman tool for
$37.
He's destitute. He's living like a vagabond. He's driving around in his F
living out of his vehicle.
It appears Lyle is getting a taste of his own bitter medicine.
He disobeyed Warren.
And so from prison, Warren has directed his remaining followers in Short Creek
to kick Lyle out of the church.
And what that did to the people that were supporting him is prevented them
even talking to him or helping him in any way.
Consequently, he was on his own. Here he is going from living a multimillion
dollar lifestyle.
Pawning a Leatherman to get a hamburger.
All I could do was laugh.
That was so fitting.
Almost immediately, Gary Franz heads to South Dakota.
He gets word that Lyle has been pulled over by a local cop.
I responded within just a couple of minutes of them pulling him over.
And to walk around and to see Lyle and to introduce myself and to let him know
the FBI was here and that he had been caught, that was pretty sweet.
Lyle pleads guilty to fraud.
The judge estimates the loss at $2 million and sentences Jeffs to nearly
years.
Brenda Nicholson attends his sentencing hearing.
And sometimes I feel like maybe it makes me a bad person, but I really enjoyed
sitting in the room.
and seeing him in shackles and chains.
Because he spiritually has enslaved so
many people that it was nice to see at least some degree of justice served.
Brenda and her family are now living in Vancouver, Washington, adjusting to a
challenging life.
We looked at the Gentile world as horrific.
dangerous, horrible place, and now it's our world.
And it really is like being dropped into a foreign country. Yeah, we all spoke
English, but words meant something different to us.
But she has no regrets.
You know, my worst day out here is a thousand times better than my best day
there. That is a feeling many who left share, like Cheryl Barlow.
She eventually makes the decision to join her husband, Dee, in life on the
outside.
Having the threat of losing my children hanging over my head, it put a fire
inside of me that I would not, no matter what happened, I was not going to allow
my kids to be taken away.
Today, Cheryl and Dee live outside Phoenix, Arizona, and their children,
of them, are thriving.
And it's a happy ending for Wallace Jeffs as well.
He sues the church and wins custody of his children.
At first, they want nothing to do with him.
I won them over.
It took a while, but now they see the light and they're actually grateful that
did what I did.
Saved them from horrible atrocities.
Life is good.
And that life is good feeling is something Willie Jessup wants to return
of Short Creek, to bring the community back to where it once was.
We've got to bring sports back. We've got to bring dances back. We've got to
bring empowerment to women to be able to say, I have a right to know where my
daughter is.
Jessup now owns the enormous compound Warren ordered built for him.
He has turned part of it into a hotel.
and turned what was the storehouse into a thriving public school.
You'll see it very typically. You'll see a poor, timid little family with a few
prairie dresses walk up into the school.
A month later, they're wearing shorts and whatever, and they've joined a
basketball team, and they're out there at midnight still trying to make free
throws because they've never been able to hit hoops or have the access to it.
There is something of a renaissance going on here.
There is a new library.
Playgrounds are being restored.
Holidays are celebrated.
The walls are coming down.
Warren and Lyle Jeffs came into Short Creek emboldened by unrelenting greed
sucked from it everything they could.
And now, their victims say they are celebrating the sweet justice they feel.
as the brothers sit behind bars, and they rebuild their lives.
And so it's actually something that just brings a smile to your face to see how
resilient societies can be once we were able to get the cancer out, which was
Lyle Jeffs and his brother.
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