Justice Department Sues Towns, Cites Religious Bias In Housing

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The U.S. Justice Department sued two towns on the Utah-Arizona border on Thursday that are home to a polygamist Mormon sect, citing religious discrimination in housing and other areas against residents who are not members of the sect.

The lawsuit against the twin cities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, said that the towns and their joint police department and utility providers had allowed the sect to unduly influence the provision of public services, including policing.

"City governments and their police departments may not favor one religious group over another and may not discriminate against individuals because of their religious affiliation," Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement announcing the suit.