Former FLDS members buy sectâs South Dakota compound
(Jon Krakauer) The former compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints pictured in 2006.
By The Associated Press
  | Feb. 26, 2021, 7:12 p.m.
Custer, S.D. ⢠A compound in South Dakotaâs Black Hills that was owned by a secretive polygamous cult has been sold at auction to three former members who broke with the sect years ago.
Blue Mountain Ranch LLC, representing Patrick Pipkin, Seth Cooke and Andrew Chatwin, paid $750,000 for the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saintsâ 140-acre compound at a Custer County sheriffâs auction Thursday.
The county had valued the nine-parcel property at more than $9 million. The compound, surrounded by trees and barbed-wire fencing, includes numerous buildings and a watchtower.
Members who broke with polygamous cult buy former compound
The Associated PressFebruary 26, 2021News
Members who broke with polygamous cult buy former compound
CUSTER, S.D. (AP) A compound in South Dakota’s Black Hills that was owned by a secretive polygamous cult has been sold at auction to three former members who broke with the sect years ago.
Blue Mountain Ranch LLC, representing Patrick Pipkin, Seth Cooke and Andrew Chatwin, paid $750,000 for the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints’ sprawling compound at a Custer County sheriff’s auction Thursday.
Pipkin said he left FLDS about 15 years ago and no longer believes in its teachings. He, Cooke and Chatwin successfully sued the FLDS after alleging they were illegally jailed in Arizona by local authorities who were handpicked by the sect, which they say conspired to illegally arrest and prosecute non-members.
February 26, 2021 - 11:32 AM
CUSTER, S.D. - A compound in South Dakotaâs Black Hills that was owned by a secretive polygamous sect has been sold at auction to three former members who broke with the sect years ago.
Blue Mountain Ranch LLC, representing Patrick Pipkin, Seth Cooke and Andrew Chatwin, paid $750,000 for the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints 140-acre (57-hectare) compound at a Custer County sheriff s auction Thursday.
The county had valued the nine-parcel property at more than $9 million. The compound, surrounded by trees and barbed-wire fencing, includes numerous buildings and a watchtower.
Pipkin said he left FLDS about 15 years ago and no longer believes in its teachings, the Rapid City Journal reported.