Early last week we were doing logistics work around the courthouse prior to the two-day, 350 attorney custody hearing at the Tom Green County Court that started Thursday. I saw an FLDS man getting out of an SUV that matched a tip someone gave us almost two weeks ago. There wasn’t any time to spare before our next appointment, but we stopped and approached the SUV anyway. I left my cameras in car, just so nobody would be spooked.

Inside, two FLDS women rolled down the window. We identified ourselves and asked if they would talk. I was surprised when they agreed to talk. So I said, “Do you mind if I take photos while you talk?” They said I could, which floored me. I sprinted back to the car and grabbed my cameras.

A lot of you have commented here, pointing out what you see as robotic, hypnotic responses from the women of the YFZ ranch. I haven’t been watching the TV coverage, so I’ll have to take your word for it. But you should have seen these two, especially Annette in the back seat. She had some real personality, and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. That day we were working on a story about whether or not the 16-year-old girl whose phone calls started this Texas Polygamy Raid really existed. It was a question that Brooke had grappled with from the very first day of the story two weeks ago, since there were words in the transcript that just didn’t seem to fit the FLDS culture.

Annette said there was no such girl, that it was a fictitious person. And now days later we’ve seen the arrest of a woman in Colorado who is accused of making several calls impersonating a 16-year-old girl in various situations including this one. Could this story get any crazier?

Meanwhile, I’m still amazed at Annette. Her personality was so large. After I had the photos I wanted, I put my cameras down in the gutter so no other media would spot us. I wanted to ensure that this was our interview alone. As the walls of secrecy came down this past week, the view into the FLDS culture was very illuminating for me. I would never have imagined that I would capture an image like the one above, as this woman laughed, her eyes behind cool sunglasses. I’m hoping that the openness continues. I am seeking so many answers.

This will be the last post from Monday night’s amazing turn in the YFZ Raid saga. That night, about twenty women from this extremely private group told their stories to members of the media.

Some of the women on the balcony came down to talk and some didn’t. So I can’t say that every one of these women had their children taken into state’s custody. But you can tell from the visible emotion that all were affected by the day’s events.

A photographer said to me that he thought some of tonight’s drama was “acting.” My opinion was that the women’s emotion was very genuine, and the stories they told seemed honest and heartfelt. That was my perception from being there. These are people who aren’t exposed to modern media, so coaching them on what to say in the short time before we got there would have been very difficult. Further, any mother who had been separated from her children is going to be heartbroken. That’s human nature.

There has also been a lot of chatter out there about the motives of these women in deciding to talk. But don’t forget that the battle for public opinion has been going on since the raid began on April 4th. Government agencies have been holding press conferences on a daily basis without anyone questioning their motives in releasing bits of information to support their version of events. Child Protective Services has one of the best communications experts I’ve ever seen in Marleigh Meisner. Hearing the voices of the FLDS women can only help to inform your opinion, no matter which side your opinion leans toward.

Above: Sally with tears.

Tissues for the emotions.

Janet recounts being separated from her children.

“I’m so glad I had this with me (at the shelter).”

As the FLDS women began to tell journalists about having their children taken into state’s custody I began circling the group, looking for the most promising person to photograph. I guess in these situations we often are drawn to the most dramatic scenes. But it’s not like this was the only person upset. Being removed from the shelter where their children are being held was undoubtedly a traumatic experience for these mothers.

Anyway, this is Marie, who is now without her three children.

I must admit that I was so focused on capturing these moments that I have no idea what the women were saying, other than that they felt that they had been lied to by officials and that they were very upset and worried about their children. But you can see that in Marie’s face.

Monday night we were invited onto the YFZ Ranch, where the FLDS women who had just been separated from their children were going to tell their stories. We waited for a bit at the gate with at least twenty other media vehicles, and then the gates opened and we drove in. In front of a log building, about a dozen women were waiting.

This openness to the media was unprecedented in recent FLDS history. As I often do covering these communities I wore a long-sleeved shirt. But there was a sharp contrast in fashions between some of the media and the FLDS women.

For the FLDS, this event was way out of the ordinary. They knew it, too, as this woman snapping pictures with her camera demonstrates:

Quickly the event turned into a mingle, with various women telling their stories to anyone with a camera.

To be continued…

Another historic moment. On Monday Texas authorities separated the FLDS women from their children and bussed the women back to the YFZ Ranch. Monday night the gates to YFZ were opened and a caravan of about thirty journalists were brought in to hear the women tell their stories. I will blog more about this but I wanted to get something up quick.