PROVO — Utah County prosecutors have filed felony charges against the founders of an American Indian church who allegedly used a religious guise to distribute peyote, an hallucinogenic drug, to dozens of non-Indians.
A court affidavit even accuses James W. "Flaming Eagle" Mooney, 56, founder of the Oklevuaha Earthwalks Native American Church of Utah, of developing a "down-line" marketing scheme to distribute the drug nationally through non-Indian "medicine men."
James Mooney and his wife, Linda Mooney, 46, were arrested Wednesday. James Mooney was charged in Provo's 4th District Court with 12 counts of operating a controlled substance criminal enterprise, first-degree felonies, and one count of racketeering, a second-degree felony. Linda Mooney was charged with three first-degree felonies and racketeering.
In October, police raided the Mooney home in Benjamin, a rural community west of Spanish Fork, and seized about 21 pounds of peyote buttons and church records.
Thursday, James Mooney and the church filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City against Utah County law enforcement officials seeking to have the peyote and other items seized in the raid returned. The federal lawsuit, which also seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, alleges officers took property on the basis of a search warrant that contained statements "which are materially false, misleading, inaccurate (or) irrelevant."
Peyote, a bud found on certain cacti, has been part of the Native American religious culture for generations, and in some instances ingesting it is legal. Court records allege that about 40 individuals have admitted to Utah County detectives that they participated in peyote ceremonies at the Mooney home.
"Most of these individuals denied that they had any Indian blood or ancestry," says a court affidavit filed by Utah County detectives.
Attorney Kathryn Collard contends in the federal lawsuit that James Mooney is legally authorized to gather and distribute peyote. The lawsuit claims he and his followers are being prevented from exercising their religion, "including their use of peyote as a sacrament in religious ceremonies for the purposes of self-realization on oneness with God, spiritual cleansing, repentance and healing."
According to a probable-cause affidavit filed with the Mooneys' arrest warrant, James Mooney told a state licensing official that anyone, whether Indian or not, can become a member of his church by ingesting peyote. The affidavit says about 95 percent of church members are non-Indian.
The Mooneys also do not charge for the peyote but strongly encourage church members to make donations, the affidavit says. However, some church members allege that those who do not make donations are ignored during peyote ceremonies.
Investigators also allege that James Mooney set up a marketing branch of the church called Eagle Hawk Media to market the church on the Internet and through seminars. Eagle Hawk had signed an earnest money agreement to buy 605 acres of land in Texas for harvesting peyote, court records allege.
James Mooney was allegedly setting up a marketing scheme of 10 down-line "medicine men" in each of the 50 states who would buy peyote from him and then return to him 10 percent of money they received during their own peyote ceremonies, the affidavit alleges.
The affidavit says information on the Mooneys' computer indicates down-line "medicine men" had already been established in Ogden, Salt Lake City, Orem and Spring City. One of the medicine men, Nick Stark, was arrested in July for allegedly having a peyote ceremony attended by 25 people in a tepee behind his home in Ogden Canyon. David Hamblin, also a member of the church, was charged recently with drug possession in Provo.
Besides the initial raid on the Mooney home, investigators also seized a postal package addressed to the church containing 8,000 peyote buttons. James Mooney has allegedly told investigators that he plans to continue his peyote ceremonies, and they believe he is now traveling to Texas to pick up the peyote buttons.
If convicted of the felonies as charged, the Mooneys face a possible sentence of five years to life in prison. Both Mooneys bailed out of jail late Wednesday by posting a $10,000 bond each.
Note: The Associated Press contributed to this story.
E-MAIL: jimr@desnews.com