July 25, 1953: The police and the National Guard raid a Mormon fundamentalist settlement in Arizona

Friday 25 July 2008

In the early hours of July 25, 1953, Arizona police and U.S. National Guard members raided a Mormon fundamentalist community in Short Creek, Ariz. The raid, which was orchestrated by Gov. John Howard Pyle, was the largest arrest of polygamists in U.S. history.

Among the nearly 400 members arrested at Short Creek, 236 were children. One hundred fifty of those children were not returned to the custody of their parents for more than two years. Although Gov. Pyle felt the raid was a success, the subsequent media coverage and public reaction generally was negative.