The Challenger Tragedy's Connection to a Religious Zealot: Watch 'Prophet's Prey' Clip
The upcoming documentary Prophet’s Prey tracks religious cult leader and polygamist Warren Jeffs, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2001 for sexually assaulting two of his so-called “spiritual wives.” Jeffs and his Mormon group, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), were responsible for much more than that, as suggested in the above exclusive clip.
The FLDS ran several businesses, many of which were contracted to do work for U.S. government branches and the Pentagon. HydraPak, founded by Jeffs himself, manufactured the faulty O-rings that were blamed for killing all seven crew members on the Challenger Space Shuttle in 1986.
The film details how Jeffs expanded his sphere of power at alarming speed, used his distorted religious teachings to justify rape, and how he became a worshipped prophet along the way.
Based on a New York Times bestseller of the same name, Prophet’s Prey opens in New York on Sept. 18 and in Los Angeles on Sept. 25; it will also run on Showtime this fall.
