The Southern Poverty Law Center has described FLDS as a "white supremacist, homophobic, anti-government, totalitarian cult."
In his sermons, Warren Jeffs has declared homosexuality "the worst evil act you can do, next to murder," and has implored women to "build up young husbands by being submissive."
Although Judge Stewart had set strict conditions upon Jeffs pretrial release; he was confined to his Salt Lake County home with few exceptions, told he couldn't contact various people affiliated with the sect, and was made to wear a GPS monitoring device, the polygamous leader managed to escape federal authorities, and is yet to be found.
"He used a substance which may have been olive oil to lubricate the GPS tracking band and slip it off his ankle," FBI Special Agent In Charge Eric Barnhart told Fox 13.
Investigators believe that Jeffs removed his ankle bracelet at some point on June 18, local media reports, because federal agents were in contact with him earlier that day but lost contact during the evening hours.
After speaking with Jeff's neighbours, investigators told The Salt Lake Tribune that witnesses saw "a newer model dark [Ford] Mustang" leave his garage some time during the night.
The next day the FBI issued a warrant for his arrest.
Jeffs' rather surprising method of escape raised eyebrows, and could make some wonder whether it's actually that easy to slip off an ankle monitor.
Investigators told local media that Jeffs managed to escape without setting off any alerts because he didn't damage the monitor as he was taking it off. "It wasn't enough to actually sever the fibre-optic connection," Sandra Yi Barber, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Salt Lake City Division told local media.
Others aren't that surprised that Jeffs escaped. His brother, Warren Jeffs, was also one the run for months in 2006 before police caught up with him in Las Vegas, according to The Daily Beast, where they caught him riding in an Escalade filled with disguises such as wigs and sunglasses.
Former FLDS members suspect that Jeffs is holed up in one of his many hiding spots, according to media reports.
"He's got people that will buy him a house in a heartbeat," Matt Jeffs, one of Lyle's sons told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Known as "the house of hiding network," which was created around 2004 by Lyle's brother Warren Jeff, houses exist all across the country such as in Idaho, Nevada and Texas.