Polygamists in our midst—A WTIP Community Conversation

WTIP has been following the story about Seth Jeffs, a religious leader with a history of legal trouble in the western United States and deep family connections to the polygamous sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeffs has purchased 40 acres of property along Pike Lake Road in Cook County and plans to build a large structure on the land.

In response to Jeffs’ Cook County land purchase, a group of community members have organized a town-hall style meeting scheduled for Saturday, May 18 at 9 a.m. The event includes the panelists Tonia Tewell, the founder and director of Holding Out HELP, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to work with those inside and outside Utah’s fundamentalist and polygamous communities, and private investigator Sam Brower, known for his work in exposing the crimes of the FLDS church and Jeffs family.

As part of WTIP’s ongoing coverage, Joe Friedrichs spoke with Tewell and Brower about their knowledge of the FLDS community, Seth Jeffs and the upcoming town hall meeting in Grand Marais. You can hear both of these interviews in this special community conversation.

Please note: WTIP is not affiliated with Saturday’s town hall meeting.

For more information on Seth Jeffs, click on the links below:

A March 2019 update on the FLDS compound in South Dakota.

Seth Jeffs arrested at South Dakota compound in 2016. 

A 2019 report from KARE11 about Jeffs and his arrival in Minnesota. 

Joe Friedrichs May 16, 2019