Texas Moves to Seize Warren Jeffs' Ranch

Texas authorities succeeded in getting polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs locked up for life for sexually abusing underage girls, and now they want to shut down the massive ranch where his followers still live, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. The state attorney general today took the first step in seizing the 1,600-acre property near Eldorado, arguing that it was purchased with laundered money as "part of a failed attempt to establish a remote outpost where they could insulate themselves from criminal prosecution for sexually assaulting children."

It's not clear how many people still live on the ranch, but an attorney for Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints says authorities are "punishing the victims—these aren't the people who committed the crimes." The Tribune doesn't think a federal raid is imminent; this one could wind through the courts instead. (More Warren Jeffs stories.)