Newspaper obtains State’s motion to “monitor” welfare of Strong City flock

Jeff Bent wrote about it on his church’s blog early Friday evening, and now the Albuquerque Journal‘s Web site has just published a similar story about the State’s apparent effort to check-in on the welfare of nearly 50-members of the Lord Our Righteousness church near Clayton, New Mexico.

Church leader Wayne Bent and many—if not all—of his followers are now 16 days into their “final fast”, and according to their Web site, they began going without water Friday.

Here’s an excerpt from the Albuquerque Journal’s article as it appeared on abq.com (subscription required) shortly after midnight Saturday (PST):

The Journal received a copy from Jeff Bent of a DA’s Office motion filed in District Court on Friday that asks a judge “to continue to allow the Union County Sheriff’s Office and medical personnel if necessary to monitor the welfare of these individuals.” The motion says “approximately 46 people are in jeopardy of harm from starvation and may not be competent … to look after their own health and safety” because of Bent’s influence.

The newspaper also reports that Bent’s attorney, Sarah Montoya, is concerned that the State may forcibly remove people from the church’s property.

Wayne Bent is scheduled to go to trial November 17.  He is charged with having had sexual contact with two girls and with contributing to the delinquency of minors.

According to Jeff Bent’s Friday evening post on strongcity.info:

The order specifies the names of three individuals are to be removed from Strong City by force and taken to Las Vegas for mental health evaluation.

Beyond90Seconds.com spoke by telephone with District Attorney Donald Gallegos on Thursday afternoon.  When asked if his office was concerned about the welfare of the people living on the LOR’s property, Gallegos said, “Yes.”