Shields said both Oler and Blackmore were arrested Wednesday morning without incident by eight plainclothes RCMP officers in unmarked vehicles .
unmarked
shield say oler blackmore arrest wednesday morning incident plainclothe rcmp officer unmarked vehicle
Shields said both Oler and Blackmore were arrested Wednesday morning without incident by eight plainclothes RCMP officers in <m> unmarked </m> vehicles .
Bountiful polygamous leaders charged
RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields and Attorney-General Wally Oppal announced Wednesday that the RCMP arrested two Bountiful residents , Winston K. Blackmore , 52 , and James Oler , 44 , on charges of polygamy .
The arrests are the culmination of the most recent seven-month charge assessment review by special prosecutor Terrence Robertson .
Shields said both Oler and Blackmore were arrested Wednesday morning without incident by eight plainclothes RCMP officers in <m> unmarked </m> vehicles .
Both men are currently in the Cranbrook RCMP detachment lockup , but are expected to be released once they appear before a justice of the peace Wednesday afternoon .
The polygamy charge against Blackmore involves 20 individuals , while the charge against Oler involves only two .
Blackmore leads about half the Bountiful commune , while Oler leads the other half .
Last June , Oppal hired Robertson to investigate whether charges should be laid against the openly polygamist members of the Bountiful commune , where older men routinely are married , legally and common-law , to much younger women .
Oppal instructed B.C. 's Criminal Justice Branch to review the latest developments in an ongoing police investigation and reconsider criminal charges , after two previous prosecutors warned such charges could trigger a Charter challenge based on freedom of religion .
Oppal has stated his intention to punish any transgressions of laws to protect children .
Blackmore recently accused Oppal of religious persecution for pursuing the police investigation .