FLDS might sue over raid

ELDORADO, Texas, June 13 (UPI) -- The polygamist sect whose children were temporarily removed in a raid on its Texas ranch is preparing to sue the state, an attorney said.

The Deseret Morning News reported Friday an attorney for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said FLDS officials believe the raid on the group's Yearning for Zion Ranch was illegal.

"There is a desire and a need for compensation, so I think you will see something come," said Rod Parker, a Salt Lake attorney who is acting as a spokesman for the FLDS community.

He said the lawsuits would likely focus on the removal of the children, the raid itself and damage to the sect's temple on a sprawling ranch outside Eldorado, Texas.

"They kicked in the door. They tore it up," Parker told the newspaper. "More importantly, it was defiled. It's not usable as a temple."

Texas child protective officials and police raided the compound April 3, responding to a call about a 16-year-old girl who said she was pregnant and in a forced marriage to an older man.