3 of polygamous "prophet" leader's 20 wives charged with kidnapping: "These women have proven that they will stop at nothing"

Federal authorities on Wednesday charged three of a self-declared prophet's wives with kidnapping and impeding a foreseeable prosecution after eight girls associated with the polygamous group fled from state foster care.

Naomi Bistline and Donnae Barlow appeared in federal magistrate court in Flagstaff on Wednesday. They remain jailed and have court hearings scheduled next week. Moretta Rose Johnson is awaiting extradition from Washington state.

Samuel Bateman, the leader of the small polygamous group on the Arizona-Utah border, had taken at least 20 wives, most of them minors, and punished followers who did not treat him as a prophet, newly filed federal court documents show.