Hawkins trial moved to Parker County
The bigamy trial of House of Yahweh leader Yisrayl Hawkins has been moved to Parker County, after 42nd District Judge John Weeks approved a change of venue today.
The trial will be held Nov. 9.
[…]Hawkins stands charged with four counts of promoting bigamy and one count of practicing bigamy. Each bigamy charge is considered a second-degree felony and carries a penalty of two to 20 years in prison with a $10,000 fine.
He also is charged with breaking child-labor laws, a Class B misdemeanor. According to court documents, up to 40 children spent 40 hours a week working on the House of Yahweh property in Callahan County.
A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Sect Depicts Jesus in Jumpsuits
ABILENE, TX—The House of Yahweh mailed out a 33-page publication this week depicting Jesus and some of the apostles in the same orange jumpsuits worn by its leader, Yisrayl Hawkins.
[…]The publication, called The Prophetic Word, also includes letters from Hawkins, newspaper clippings that refer to his arrest and impending trial, and prophecies about the end of the world.
Three different pictures of Jesus show him wearing the same orange jumpsuit and white undershirt that Hawkins has been photographed in numerous times.
Various paragraphs state that orange jumpsuits are used to de-individualize people and “carry associations of guilt and conviction,” and that the color can be traced back to the occult.
“You have clothed the Only Prophesied Savior in orange,” it states above a depiction of Jesus being brought to court.
Hawkins has made national headlines over the past few years, predicting nuclear war that would end the world in 2006, then 2007, then 2008. Former members, like Doug Hawkins, says the doomsday predictions are meant to keep members from leaving the sect out of fear.
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