Jeffs appearance draws crowd with various agendas

By Tiffany De Masters tdemasters@thespectrum.com

Jud Burkett / The Spectrum A row of satellite trucks and news crews wait outside 5th District Court during Warren Jeffs preliminary hearing Tuesday in St. George.   Tiffany DeMasters / Daily News Several news broadcasters work outside the 5th Judicial Court House in St. George around 8 a.m. Tuesday interviewing people and awaiting calls from their reporters inside the courtroom of the Warren Jeffs trial. ST. GEORGE - Among the media swirl outside the 5th District Courthouse Tuesday morning, there were others not carrying a notebook or camera to see the Warren Jeffs trial. One of these groups was Bikers Against Child Abuse. The St. George chapter president, who would only give his road name of "Guido," said members of BACA come to court quite often. "We're not here to make a statement against polygamy - what happens between adults stays between adults," Guido said. "We're here to make them (the children) feel secure enough to tell the truth and put these people in jail." He said BACA's purpose is to help re-empower children who have been abused. "We're here helping the bruised souls today," he said. Also not with the media but there with a camera was Joel Kramer, who is putting together a documentary for Living Hope Ministries on the event. From Brigham City, Kramer said he has put together other films that discuss Latter-day Saint issues. The DVDs are primarily distributed to a Christian audience and posted on the Internet. "I'm here covering the trial from the angle of why there is a polygamy problem and show its connection with the current LDS Church," Kramer said. "It's mainly a concept of getting information out." There behind a camera was Erin Winking, from Channel 8, KLAS-TV, Las Vegas. Winking said the Jeffs trial is important to his local viewers because he was caught by Nevada Highway Patrol and held in Nevada for a time. "I think Las Vegas has a large Mormon community as well. Although they are not fundamentalists, it still affects them," Winking said.

TheSpectrum.com Originally published November 22, 2006

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