Evangelist Complex Raided For Child Porn

FBI, State Police Planned To Remove Several Children From Compound, Run By Previously Accused Child Abuser

(CBS/AP)  FBI agents and state police raided an evangelists' headquarters Saturday as part of a child pornography investigation and said they planned to remove several children from the complex, run by a man previously accused of child abuse.

The raid at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries south of Texarkana started an hour before sunset. Armed guards regularly patrol the ministry headquarters, but there was apparently no resistance as agents moved in.

"I have not heard of any shots fired," state police spokesman Bill Sadler said.

U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid that he expected an arrest warrant would be issued later for Alamo.

Alamo wasn't on site and is at an undisclosed location in Santa Clarita, California, reports CBS affiliate KTHV-TV in Little Rock.

In a phone interview with KTHV, Alamo refuted the allegations and claimed the government and media were attempting to bring an end to his ministry.

Shortly after the raid began, a sport-utility vehicle hauling a trailer backed up to the ministry building's front door. FBI vehicles blocked off a dead-end road.

A Fouke School District bus also arrived and pulled up near 12 unmarked vans, SUVs and sedans parked alongside the low-slung ministry headquarters along U.S. 71 just inside the city limits of tiny Fouke.

Sadler said a search would be conducted at the compound headquarters and also at Alamo's home nearby.

A helicopter circled overhead, and onlookers stopped along the two-lane highway to watch the raid.

Alamo's church is in a single-story building that looks like a strip mall. A white cross stands atop the structure, with a small steeple to the right side.

Alamo was once accused in California of directing the beating of a church member's 11-year-old son. In 1994, he was sentenced to six years in prison on tax evasion charges filed in Memphis, Tennessee.

The judge in the tax case ordered him held pending sentencing after prosecutors argued that the evangelist was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation. U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla said he was concerned over "the very great control Mr. Alamo has over a number of people."

[tmn]

He sets a wonderful example for fundamentalist Christians everywhere. Way to go Tony!

[billpl-2009]

".... Armed guards regularly patrol the ministry headquarters...."

***?

[downsteamjim]

Who cloned Jerry Lee Lewis?

[Kilz]

I wonder if this will become another example of the fine work the state of texas dose when it deals with religious organizations.

Maybe a girl called on the phone and told authorities what was going on. I hope they find her.

[chimpyout]

Time for a fundy hegira. He can flee religious "persecution" by leading his followers to Harrison, AR or that center of enlightenment, Tulsa.

[antoniof123]

Religion the seed of evil. The love of money is the root of evil but is has to come from somewhere. Hey were are all the other evangelicals now are they all saying this needs to be investigated or are they saying something else.

Typical of the seed of evil.

[joker1944-2009]

Good Lord - these ultra-religious freak shows are all the same. Hypocrites, phonies, crooks and theives. I cannot believe they still are able to con people into giving them money.

[pollroller1]

If money is the root of all evil, then why do all these TV preachers beg for it? LOL

[skysoldier75]

Evangelical fundamentalists are the most gullible people on the entire planet.

They''re all "sheeple"; just mindless little grazers easily herded around and manipulated by unscrupulous shepherds.

[liberalme]

These hypocrites do all their dirty work in the name of God.

One has to be completely insane to belong to any of these religious cults.

[lindh4]

It doesn''t take much of a leap of "faith" to go from the hundred billion dollar organizational worship of a 2000 year-old camel jockey to Tony Alamo''s impression of a 2000 year old camel-jockey. Once you buy into the camel rider, it really doesn''t make any difference whose circus is running the show.

[jetsetter08]

Isn''t that Palin''s coharts?

[dewbug2]

lindh4,all kidding aside, i do pity your sorry effin'' arse.....what a effin'' loser you are....

[cbsblogger]

Texas is sure full of weirdos.

[strangeworld]

It sounds like there was some "Laying on of Hands" going on down there.

[erb0087]

"FOUKE, Arkansas"

What the Fouke ?!

[occams_taser]

It usually turns out that the big perverts in the media are wacko extremist Christian right wing nutjobs.

[jolsonbear]

And I can''t get married because I''m an evil h o m o s e x u a l.

[billpl-2009]

"lindh4,all kidding aside, i do pity your sorry effin'''' arse.....what a effin'''' loser you are...."
Posted by dewbug2

how do you figure?
a little rude, but he makes perfect sense to me.

[billpl-2009]

"And I can''''t get married because I''''m an evil h o m o s e x u a l" Posted by jolsonbear

...and that''s a problem?

[jolsonbear]

Yes, Billpl, that is a problem. I pay my taxes and served my country. And one day when when our elected official have the courage to stand up and pull the evangelical c o c k out of thier a s s e s maybe we can bget this country back on the track to democracy.

Is That a problem for you....?

[raskal_2]

...Bet this guy was a Catholic Alter boy at one time.

[element51]

As long as there are people who buy into the fantasy of an "eye in the sky" this type of thing will go on. I was raised in the church but after being molested by a priest at age 11 I began to question what religion was all about. For years I looked for answers and finally came to the conclusion that it was all a farce. I became an atheist and since then my life has been very good. I do not try to convince others to believe the way I do and I keep my feelings to myself. I do not ridicule people who believe in God and strongly believe that if one finds comfort there it is good for them. These sick individuals who use religion to their one disgusting needs should be prosecuted but they use religion to hide behind. The interesting thing to me is that people will say that I am evil but they will excuse these fake evangelicals. Never have quite understood that. Even many of the mainstream preachers, Benny Hinn, Jim Baker, just to name two, do far more damage than I ever could. But they are not evil.

[zudi-2009]

The raid was in Fouke, ARKANSAS, not Texas. Wackos come from everywhere, unfortunately.

[element51]

It scares the he11 out of me to know that one of the people who wants to head our country believes that her God wants us to wage war. This person believes that the sooner the world is destroyed the sooner she will get to heaven. So, given the right circumstances, what would keep her from giving the launch order which, if anyone ever does that, will bring the end of mankind. Is that the kind of thinking that you want in the number 2 spot?

[truthislife1]

To element51:

Your decision to become an atheist is based on mans ability to be evil, not on God''s ability to be good. There are fakes in the world, there are evil so called "Christians" in the world. But the true Christians are those who recognize the evil that is in their heart and respond to God''s goodness through Jesus. Your decision to become an atheist is all about you and not about truth. That does not change the truth that evil comes from people and not God. If you are going to reject God, you have to kick and scream at Jesus and at God really hard, and also get everything for yourself and do not withold any pleasure that you can gain in this world, because that is all you will have. You and I both know to say God is not real is self-refuting. You have to be smarter than the God you say does not exist, which means you do not exist either. Your are denying God''s love and focusing on mans evil. I am truly sorry a so called "believer" did this to you. I hardly believe you are happy, just mis-understood.

[wlmrtpatriot]

jolsonbear, If you want to get married, find a state that marries homos and just do it and stop whining.
ocams_taser: the media isn''t Christian right wing, although there are pervs there too.

[pirmin3]

Another bible thumper boo-fooing the choir boys. These evangelical types are real scum.

[wlmrtpatriot]

Was there a hoax caller in this incident also? Did anybody get shot? Any children burned? If not the govnment did a fine job.

[jolsonbear]

truthislife1, you may mean well. But, I don''t believe it is possible for "Christians" to talk about thier faith to non-believers without being condescending. I was raised Pentecostal/Evangelical and have great admiration for the teachings of Christ. But my extensive experience in the church never convinced me of the existance of a God. I am sure of this; I was taught that "Christian" means to be Christ like and, based on my study of the teaching of Christ, I can honestly say that I have never met one.

[jolsonbear]

hey wlmrtpatriot, if I ever find the other half of my leg that I left in Fallujah, I just might have to look you up kick you A S S with it!!!!

[element51]

truthislife1....thank you for your response. At least you did not call me a satan worshiping monster. I respect your feelings and strongly believe that if this philosophy works for you, you should embrace it. I did not arrive where I am on a whim. I did a lot of research and tried to apply my intelligence before jumping to any conclusions. I have studied all forms of religion and although I do not claim to be an expert I learned enough to reach my conclusion. It isn''t that I feel hatred toward "God" I just do not believe that he/she exists. As for my happiness, it is amazing what a wonderful life I have. I have a wonderful wife, great kids, monetary success, all anyone could ask for. I believe that we have a certain amount of time to be alive and it is up to each of us to make that time as good as possible. And lastly, I have peace inside myself. I feel no hatred, jealousy, greed, anger, or the need to try to interfere in the lives of others. So even though we do not agree I still am grateful that you are here and that you are happy in your life. And if you ever needed me, and I knew it, I would be there for you in a heartbeat. Peace.

[element51]

jolsonbear....Maybe I''m wrong but I got the feeling you were sort of defending me in your post. If so, thank you. I have grown used to the condesention and ridicule I get when people find out I am an atheist. One of the first things out of their mouths is "you must feel so empty and miserable." Wrong. Over the years I have learned to keep my feelings to myself and keep my mouth shut, which is hard to do sometimes when I hear some of the things people say. Like God loves war. What *********! Anyway thanks and thank you for the sacrafice you made for this country. To me, you are a hero and I have tremendous respect for you and for your actions. Thank you.

[airboatboy1]

Another perverted, scumbag, tax evader hiding behind religion. I never understood that organized religion anyway. They all seem like cults.

[kscoolmom]

People, please, let''s be civil. Child abuse of any type is reprehensible...& I speak from 1st hand experience as a survivor. Religion tends to be another emotionally charged subject. I do feel compelled to "put my 2 cents in": Consider the vast number of people alive now, along with all those who came before us-each & every one a unique individual. How can anyone say that there is only 1 truth/deity/lifestyle for all of those people?

Ask 20 eye-witnesses to describe an event, & you will get 20 radically different accounts, with each person firmly convinced that THEIR version is the only "1 true" description. I believe that just as there are many unique individuals, there are many unique truths/deities/lifestyles. I do NOT attempt to tell everyone else that my truth is their truth-how could it be, when I am not them? To me, the belief structure that Tony Alamo & his followers espouse is a text-book example of a cult. I apologize to anyone I may have offended.

[honestabe8]

How is saying that god is not real self-refuting?

[skyk239]

hey wlmrtpatriot, if I ever find the other half of my leg that I left in Fallujah, I just might have to look you up kick you A S S with it!!!!

Posted by jolsonbear at 01:48 AM : Sep 21, 2008

As a Vet from another War I must agree with you on this.

[mydiatribe]

"...I never knew you; Depart from me YOU who practice LAWLESSNESS." Matthew 7:23

[skyk239]

Of all the corruption there is in this nation, without a doubt this is the worst. We have NO oversight of these TAX EXEMPT groups and they are bleeding us dry as well as being the worst among us. In the name of Charity these low life freaks drive around in BMW''s, Live in Mansions and ALL their relatives do as well. It''s time REAL American''s stepped in and put a stop to it. IF these Organizations can NOT show that money they collect actually DOES go to Charity they should pay tax on it just like the rest of us. THAT would put a lot of low lifes like this clown OUT OF BUSINESS!!

[nikkicatt1]

Texarkana is a city on the Texas Arkansas border. None of the cults that got raided in Texas originated here. I do not know why anyone would refer to Texas as Republican. The reason these wierdos come here is because we are very tolerant. To all the people that have to say mean things: I hope you feel better now that you did. Texas will get along fine without you.

"You can all go to HE11! I''m going to Texas." Davy Crockett

[sashenka1]

The article didn''t state any current offenses or charges. It made comment of a future warrant. The minister has a documented HISTORY of dipping his appendage into untaxed-unreported income funds; carnally consorting to share mutually satisfying activities with fellow male inmates; and returning to the evangelical dedication with new and improved methods of clandestine bookkeeping, improved same-gender intimacy but with the original carnal greed increasing his carlessness and esoteric structuring of his massive instrument of spreading the joy and happiness of his soul.

[runningralph]

Tony Alamo is a criminal, not a Christian. His followers are misguided and ignorant. This case is not relevant to any locality. Child abuse goes on all over the world. In some places children are sold into slavery. In others, children are trained to become suicide bombers.

[magik13]

It does not surprise me. The Christian religion has a long history of criminal activity. Mostly these days it is in the business of brainwashing people with mythology.

[honestabe8]

trishab58: Well, we have been told all these years that''s it''s blessed to come in the name of the lord...."Oh...Oh?....Oh....G-G-G-God!"

[honestabe8]

majik: you got to admit, it''s a pretty good gig. fanatical followers, no way to prove it wrong...it''s good to be king

[pastdue1]

These kind of cults thrive in places like Texas and Arkansas and all along the Bible Belt because they allow people to give the appearance of being "pious" and still allow their baser instincts free rein. One reason why evangelicals are so often found to be perverse. However else we may feel about Karl Marx, he got it right when he said that religion is a way to control the masses.

[swwils]

He looks like a pervert,they all have that look.Send him into the shark pit at state prison,they deal with scum like this.

[usmcvn1]

The moron looks like an Elvis wantabe.

[tootall10142]

OL TONY WELL I HAVE MET THE MAN WHEN HE HAD HIS CULT HERE IN ON THE BORDERS OF OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS.HIS PEOPLE WERE TRESSPASSING ON MY LAND AND KILLING WILDLIFE OUT OF SEASON AND ON TRIBAL LAND.I TOLD THE MAN THAT HE HAD TWO CHOICES. ONE.HE COULD STOP IT AND ILL NEVER COME BACK . TWO IF HE DIDNT PUT A STOP TO IT I WAS GOING TO PEPPER MY LAND WITH BEAR TRAPS AND HE COULD PICK HIS PEOPLE UP AT THE TRIBAL POLICE OFFICE THE HOSPITAL OR THE MORGUE.SHORTLY AFTER THAT THE FBI, ATF ,IRS RAIDED THE COMPOUND AND ARRESTED 35 PEOPLE.

[usmcvn1]

Its time for a roundup! Arrest all Jesusfreaks and burn ''em at the stake!