Short and chubby, the Brown boys looked up to the Knight brothers. I think it scared them.. In the 1980s, the state of Utah sued John Ortell Kingston over welfare fraud related to his many wives. It was also around then that Stephen, at the age of 14, began to see the clan for what it really was. There was a guy out here who was married to a couple of young girls, and he was going to get in trouble. According to church lore, Charles "Elden" Kingston founded The Order after seeing Jesus in a cave. Young also claimed Desert Tech had sold guns to Picatinny Arsenal, the research division of the U.S. military. They would trek into state welfare offices, their kids in tow, claiming that they had no idea who the father of their children was, or that he was a truck driver who had left them destitute. When he had finished, he walked toward Stephen, who was sitting on the tractor. The family believed that discipline would rein in the boys and that hard labor would make the girls more supplicant to their husbands back in the city. Johnson also acknowledged hearing family lore dating to the Depression era of Order families burying fetuses from late-term miscarriages on their respective properties.. As he grew older, Stephen turned out to be as rebellious as his own father had been as a boy. If you were more obedient, this wouldnt have happened., After that, everything changed, Stephen says. Or Aunt Martha did, or somebody did. Read more: Women Who Escaped a Polygamist Mormon Cult Share Their Story. girl, born to John Ortell and Isabell Johnson, was not the product of an incestuous marriage. He no longer believed in the Order, but he knew that leaving would mean being shunned by his own family, and because he had been forbidden from making friends outside the clan, there would be few people in the world he could turn to. Home births and the frequency of miscarriages and still-borns among the Kingstons have led to macabre legends of dead infants buried in Kingston back yards. The fact that most of the people in the Kingston clan were born into the lifestyle is very key to group think because this is all they know, and some may never question the beliefs even when they age because it has been their whole world all their life. A sheriffs deputy traced the license plate of the Honda to a run-down house in a working-class suburb south of the city. Its his father, the prophet, calling to coax his wayward son back into the fold. Snow also remembered being taught end-time prophecies, with a cleansing wherein the streets of Salt Lake City would run red with blood. Mark Shurtleff, the Utah attorney general, has spent years investigating the clan, gathering birth certificates and genealogical data, and has come to believe that the cult is guilty of a long list of crimes, including child labor, tax evasion, welfare fraud, polygamy and the sanctioning of underage marriages to blood relatives. "Many of the parents did not want to have to deal with some of those children. The discovery by this project that Co. Cork Kingstons share a common Kingston ancestor with Kingstons from the villages around Towcester in the southern part of Northamptonshire, as determined by Y chromosome analysis, is crucial to our understanding of the origins of Co. Cork Kingstons. Children born into the clan make up much of the labor force. All I like to do is work on cars and hang out with friends and ride my ponies, he wrote one night on his MySpace page. Within the clan, the pieces started to add up. We havent gotten any big U.S. contracts, Young explained. Mary Nelson, 23, tells "Whistleblower" host Alex Ferrer about how she escaped the Kingston clan, also known as The Order, with the help of her boyfriend Bryan. In 1999, Pauls younger brother David Ortell Kingston was convicted of taking his 16-year-old niece as wife number 15. Utahs polygamous Kingston clan mixes incest and white supremacy with old-fashioned capitalism. Martha's husband was "Uncle" Fred Jessop, longtime Bishop to the FLDS people, who died in 2005 at 94, after being dragged from state to state by Warren Jeffs in what many ex-members believe was a transparent scheme of murder-by-stress: Dragging around a physically ailing, elderly man in need of constant medication is one way to kill a person without committing any outright murderous act, they say. The most common birth defects for children born of close cousins, anywhere, are: harelip, cleft palate, clubfoot, and certain forms of heart valve conditions. One day, for laughs, he and his half brother Ron Tucker stole some napalm from an Order army-supply store, drew lines of it in the street and lit it on fire as cars drove by. As for its anti-government views, allegations of fraud against government entities have long dogged the Kingstons. It felt like it was us against the world. His older brother Richard, a burly diesel mechanic, taught him how to fix cars. It was all just innocent teenage stuff, recalls Ron, who has since left the clan. If you knew where to look and the Knight boys did it was easy to find. In his teens, Stephen and five of his half brothers stole $4,000 from their father. "There are times when it has gotten kind of gross, like when they marry an uncle to a niece," she continues. He went days at a time without eating, convinced it helped provoke visions, and believed that by the laying on of hands he could heal his followers from sickness and disease. The clan believed he had their treasure, and they were sending someone to kill him. There are also accounts of dead babies being buried at the Holy Spot, a tree-shrouded patch of land across the street from a grade school in Bountiful, just north of Salt Lake City. PDF Kingston Polygamy Order Birth Defects - Leanderband.org When this got around to his dad, his father packed up Snows belongings and left them in the room of a hotel owned by The Order. His seven sons and two daughters by LaDonna Peterson, the second of his 13 wives, are reputed to be the inner circle that runs the cult. So they would hand them over to Aunt Martha, who was the midwife," he says. Fishing it out of his jeans, hell recognize the number. Jessica said she and other children of the Kingston clan a group also known as The Order, the Davis County Cooperative Society, and the Latter-Day Church of Christ dropped the N-bomb all the time, as did their parents. Youd show up for a welfare call, or a domestic-abuse call, and it was just real run-down.. It was all fun, Stephen recalls. "A rare, severe birth defect is on the rise in an inbred polygamous community on the Arizona-Utah border, according to a doctor who has treated many of the children. In the meantime, the police were closing in on the missing silver. Some read simply, "Baby Keate," or "Baby Bateman," or "Baby Cooke," with holes where numeric date tiles might otherwise be placed. The two groups split when Dawna was growing up. Allison, a 17 year-old ex-Kingston member says not much has changed since Lu Anns day. He says The Order regards homosexuality as a choice. Incest is endemic in the clan, with uncles marrying much younger female relatives; in 2003, police showed up at an Order barbecue and arrested a clan member for marrying his underage cousin. Two are nieces. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The Kingstons operate in a self-contained universe, completely cut off from the outside world. One of her brothers married a woman whose grandmother is a sister to their father. . But for their part, The Order and other fundamentalist sects believe the LDS church exists in a state of apostasy for abandoning what they see as a bedrock principle of their faith. One of them approached the front door while the other kept a lookout. Later that afternoon, in another house across town belonging to the Order, a woman named Patty Kingston opened her closet to discover that a chest of gold coins worth as much as $5 million had vanished. Dawna asks me. But I do have children with other women., Asked if two women named were in fact his first cousins, Young paused, finally replying, I guess Im curious as to what youre trying to get at here.. Pulling up, he noticed the getaway car parked in front of the house. Paul already had two wives, but he and Richaun were married in a secret ceremony at her parents house. Given such incidents, could Order members be a threat to law enforcement? That sister, too, dealt with a lot of respiratory problems with her kids, "because of the relation," Dawna explains. This didnt belong to you anyway., As big as the heist was, it attracted almost no attention in Salt Lake. Asked about these legends, Kingston spokesman Kent Johnson, explained via email that on occasion Order families have asked to spread the ashes of a child lost before or after birth at the Holy Spot. As Kingston wife charged in child's death, former clan members - KUTV Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 I love the Order. Once free of the cult, Lu Ann, Allison and other ex-Order members have had to unlearn the hatred that was drilled into their heads. According to historian Brian Hales Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto, Brother Elden, as he was also known, had five wives and 17 children. In its place, someone had left a note. At the lot's northwest corner, a metal gatethe kind you might find on a cattle ranchhangs open on its hinge. It was a grimy, derelict-looking place. "And my oldest daughter, she's 18 and she's dated a couple of my cousins, which makes them her second cousins, and we're like, Eww, that's gross.". Like other fundamentalists of that era, he believed the Mormon Church had lost its divine authority when it renounced polygamy in 1890, so he persuaded three other families to join him in establishing their own sect. Another group of kids called the Lost Boys, who were kicked out of the polygamist cult the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, ended up on the streets of Las Vegas and Phoenix, some turning tricks for drugs like meth and heroin. Everyone in the Order knew that she controlled the purse strings for the operation but few were aware that she was sitting on a hidden stash of silver. Mysterious cars followed his girlfriend, and he once came home to find that someone had rifled through his drawers. But given that the Kingstons command an estimated 6,000 adherents, boast a business empire reportedly worth as much as $1 billion and have outlasted myriad bouts with law enforcement and the press, these dreams of world domination may be less delusional than they first seem. She explained that they weren't supposed to know who their dad was, only her . Knight was born in Salt Lake City, the sixth child of third-generation polygamists. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Structural birth defects are related to a problem with the structure of body parts. Many of these men are also given stewardship of the Orders business holdings sent out to run the clans coal mine or ranches, or to oversee one of its many storefronts. In 2011, Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison, plus 20 years. J.O. Those affected by the genetic disorder suffer grand mal seizures and often have facial feature deformities and severe mental retardation, with IQs as low as 25. As lore has it, Elden was the one mighty and strong predicted by Scripture, who holding the scepter of power in his hand would set in order the House of God. With thick white hair, a lantern jaw and a commanding presence, he had no problem attracting followers. Indeed, the group was founded during the Great Depression as a communal religious organization where members dedicated their earnings and possessions to building the Kingdom of God on Earth, as one church document attests. As time passed, his dogma became even stranger. Obviously, we would love to.. . The clan, known privately as the Order, runs what prosecutors believe is one of the largest organized-crime operations in Utah, overseeing its far-flung empire from a string of secret locations and backrooms. All Rights reserved. Kingston - Results | FamilyTreeDNA Family Tree. But it is likely that Kingston could recognize some of himself in Stephen. By the time he was 30, he would have more than 10. "You have to either accept" the responsibility of caring for so many children with major healthcare needs "or let it destroy you," says this man, whose wife recently suffered a stroke. They sat there for a moment, warming their hands against the sputtering heater. "They were called the Second Warders and we were called the First Warders; we weren't supposed to hang out with kids from the Centennial group because they were wicked for having left," she says. And then there are the more livable genetic conditions. Its hard to leave when thats all youve known, says one former member, who was forced to marry her cousin when she was 15. Spokesmen for both the U.S. State Department and for Picatinny Arsenal could neither verify nor deny Youngs claims. The Genetic Catastrophe That Has Sprung from Polygamy As the first of Paul Kingstons many wives, Patty enjoyed a privileged role in the Order including access to vast wealth. Stephen hangs up and drives home in silence. The FLDS believe they are practicing the one true religion as Prophet Joseph Smith intended it to be. Blacks were the less valiant people in heaven who sat on the sidelines while others took sides, according to The Order. Like other teenagers who leave fundamentalist Mormon communities, Stephen was not prepared to enter the world at large. WREs influence earned special scrutiny in February 2016 after the IRS, the EPA and other government agencies raided owner Jacob Kingstons house as well as The Orders bank and other locations, carting away bankers box after bankers box of records. She talked about how you cant associate with black people or anybody of a different race., Based on available evidence, including the accounts of numerous former Order members, the SPLC has designated The Order as a hate group under the category of `general hate.'. Daniels ultimatum: Stay in The Order, date no one, and have no contact with family. Kiki Kannibal: The Girl Who Played With Fire. Then one of them exhaled slowly, his breath shuddering in the cold air. When one of his favorite wives died, he missed her so much that he dug her up from her grave. If gay men stay in the closet, they are allowed to remain in the cult as worker bees.. Another of Ortells teachings: Adolf Hitler had the right idea about creating a master race, but didnt have the Lords help, so he failed. Thats your Uncle Paul, she said. Sometimes his father read the Book of Mormon from the pulpit and talked about things regular Christians would recognize, like tithing or repentance. Or wed set traps and raise them as pets., In many ways it was an idyllic childhood, except for the fact that the ranch also doubled as a work camp for disobedient clan wives and rebellious kids. After the wedding, Richaun chose the name Knight randomly a practice designed to prevent prosecutors from proving that men in the Order have multiple wives. The polygamous town facing genetic disaster - BBC Future In addition, Vanguard had paid nearly $2 million to a private school linked to the Kingstons called . We were taught to be polite, but to never make friends with outsiders. The clan avoids hospitals, believing government-backed doctors might inject them with a mysterious disease or demand birth records exposing the Orders lifestyle. Polygamy is outlawed in Utah, both by the states constitution, and in statute, where it is a third-degree felony, with a possible punishment of five years in prison. Its a quiet, haunting place, with massive hayfields that stretch to the horizon. The polygamous town facing genetic disaster - BBC Future. October 15, 2002: "There will be a viewing at father's house at 3p.m. "There was a guy out here who was married to a couple of young girls, and he was going to get in trouble because he was having children with these young girls, so he said, 'Well, I never had sex with themI used a turkey baster.'" Over the next several years, Stephen bounced from the suburbs of Salt Lake to the clans ranch in Nevada. KUTV When several businesses inside the Kingston polygamist empire, including Washakie Renewable Energy, was raided by federal agents Wednesday, officials where tight lipped. Unable to visit his mother, Stephen would leave a $100 bill in her mailbox or, with his brothers, buy her new furniture. It is bordered to the north by a well-maintained lot where there sits a stately red brick home with UEP (United Effort Plan, the church trust which is now controlled by the state of Utah in the aftermath of Jeffs' conviction) spelled out in white brick on its south-facing side. "Outside, people don't die that often, and usually they're really old.". During a recent interview with the Intelligence Report, Jessica Kingston, a former member of the secretive, Salt Lake City-based cult and a star of the A&E reality series "Escaping Polygamy," remembered, when she was 12, her Sunday school teacher coming into class with a . But in a 2News . Double murder in Utah: Tragedy Strikes the Cast of A&E's - Reddit Eventually, Stephen was sent back to Washakie and was placed under the supervision of his uncle, one of the familys most feared enforcers. We were off on our own out there and really close, Stephen says. Do you think if I took $5 million in gold, Id be working out here?. Known variously as Brother Paul, the leader, and the man on the watchtower by Order members, this unremarkable, balding middle-aged man reportedly has 27 wives and over 300 children. Nearby homes. The lot is unmarked and unremarkable. But The Order saves most of its bile for blacks and other non whites. I wonder aloud. When Stephen was a boy, the clan would gather for the New Year in a warehouse in the city for its annual ritual: the numbering of the men. We figured it was ours anyway, says Stephen, explaining that the clan hadnt paid the boys for bagging coal. Every now and then, as hes driving around the ranch, his phone will ring. The letter asserts that one of the earliest members of the church was a Native American man and that the Co-op, as it is sometimes called, has been the victim of prejudice and harassment by Utahs majority religion (i.e., the LDS church) because of the formers progressive ideas. Still, he conceded that some Order members may have prejudiced beliefs because in our organization people have freedom of choice.. Control of The Order then passed to Ortells well-educated son Paul Kingston, one of several lawyers in a cult whose members dress normally and try not to draw attention to themselves.