Defense attorneys for members of a polygamous sect argued Tuesday that laws specifying how food stamps can be distributed violate religious freedom.
Eleven members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are accused of fraud for allegedly taking $12 million in individual members’ benefits and redistributing them. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, the defense said it is the church’s practice to redistribute food. Prosecutors argued that the benefits primarily went to church leaders.
