Feds storm Alamo, Ministries target of child porn probe

Texarkana Gazette ^ | 09/21/2008 | Jim Williamson

[TheDon]

FOUKE, Ark.—Federal and state authorities, prompted by allegations of child pornography being produced on site, executed search warrants Saturday evening at Tony Alamo Christian Ministries.

Shortly before 6 p.m., agents from the FBI, Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Department of Human Services converged on the multiresidential compound, which sits on the equivalent of a half-mile square. For about an hour, search teams were seen entering the church and several neighboring buildings belonging to the Alamo Ministries.

Allegations that children living at the Alamo facilities were being sexually and physically abused were central to the state investigation, said Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police.

“Every minor child residing inside the Alamo compound is being interviewed by law enforcement officers and state human services officials,” he said.

“If parents of these children can be located elsewhere on the premises, officers will strive to ensure a line of communication is maintained between the children and the parents. State and federal authorities are committed to reuniting the children who may have parents at the site as quickly as possible.”

....

A voice from a passing pickup truck on U.S. Highway 71 yelled “good job” to the Arkansas State Police troopers blocking the entrances to the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries.

...

Jeanne Philyaw, who lives next to the ministries’ property, said the raid “was a long time coming.”

“I’m on the edge of tears. It’s both for joy and frustration,” she said. “How can people not know what was going on with Tony Alamo’s history?

...

Fouke Mayor Terry Purvis also watched the activity after the raid started.

“My fear was another Waco, but it appears to have gone smoothly. Praise the Lord,” he said.

...

[Awestruck]

Child pornographers and pedophiles need to be flayed alive... I support the death penalty for such people.

HOWEVER, having said that.. polygamy does NOT cause pedophilia or kiddie porn. The overwhelming majority of these pervs are monogamous or not in any relationship.

Lets just keep our facts straight.

[VOA]

I only “bumped” the thread to come back to back for later read.

And because even though I’m in Mid-Missouri, late at night I sometimes
pick up WAAY, the religious programming station at 1090AM out of
Little Rock AR.
And Alamo has a show on there...and a bad one with zero production value!

I’d heard about his legal problems, but until now, nothing about his
bizarre carting around of his dead wife’s remains.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I was pinging my fellow Nashvillians. If you aren’t from here, you may not know who he is.

[DorisCCC]

I live 30 miles from Nashville so I’ve heard a lot about him. Here is a picture of him and some links at the bottom for those who don’t know who he is.

http://www.tonyalamonews.com/

[mesoman7]

“Fouke, Arkansas”

That’s what I said when Bill Clinton was elected...

[daniel1212]

(2 Pet 2:17-22) “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. {18} For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. {19} While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. {20} For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. {21} For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. {22} But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

More info:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/406-tony-alamo-christian-ministries-research-resources

[yazoo]

Child molesting charges on this level usually turn out to be baseless.

[oldenuff2no]

I don't come down on anyone. That is the responsibility of the state but they are REQUIRED to do so within the US constitution and the law of the nation and their state. Texas did not follow that path!!!!!!!!!!! That made everything they did, said, and claimed highly suspect. It will probably get any true and legitimate charges bounced out of court.
The political motivation and stupidity of one Texas prosecutor and one Texas judge that led to the illegal actions of that raid are not excusable!!!!! Their wholesale disregard for established law, constitutional rights of individuals, and their self serving political motivations probably allowed child molesters to walk and in the end placed innocent young girls back into their hands.
By the way, I'll bet your great grandmother was married and having children way before she turned 18. That is a cultural thing and culture is often based on religion. It is not acceptable to us now but it was completely acceptable right here in this country a hundred + years ago. If you believe that there were criminals in that Texas compound then you must also know that there are at least two more criminals at that county seat who caused it to continue because of self serving political motivation. You can not believe one without acknowledging the other. I honestly and sincerely hope and pray that this lesson was learned and that the state of Arkansas, and every other jurisdiction, do not repeat this tragedy of justice. I'm not new to this argument. I said on day one when I read the very first posts about what was going on down there that it was wrong and that the judge and prosecutor were operating completely outside of the constitution. I was right then and I'm right now. The very next level of the Texas court system established this fact on the initial appeal. What I have never said is that there was no criminal activity going on in that compound. In all reality guilt is no longer a legal issue in the Texas incident. They blew it that bad.

[RadioCirca1970]

“By the way, I’ll bet your great grandmother was married and having children way before she turned 18. That is a cultural thing and culture is often based on religion. It is not acceptable to us now but it was completely acceptable right here in this country a hundred + years ago.”

Dude, it is 2008 and Tony Alamo was on Fox News with Julie Banderas saying its okay to bang and marry 10 year olds. Cultural norms my arse...it is child rape and the pigs on these compounds violating kids are no different than the goat fornicators we are fighting in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It says you can violate kids in their books too.

Muhammed’s wife was like 7— Alamo and his ilk are no different.

Game Set Match...you lose.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Alamo was like Calvin Klein for a long while here in Music City. Dolly was an avid customer of his unique clothing as well as most of country music's movers and shakers...until the IRS closed him down after the corpse scandal. Turned out he had a sweatshop of ignorant minors and aliens churning the stuff out. I attended the IRS auction and couldn't afford anything (his stuff WAS good). He ran to Arkansas and started churning out anti-Catholic/anti-government rants that his moonies dutifully stuff under everyone's' windshield wipers. I saw one just last month.

Now that the allegations that he's followed the lead of David Koresh have been made he will be put under the same pressure as O.J. Simpson is dealing with right now. I hope that the American justice system will prove itself once again in both of these cases.

[oldenuff2no]

I didn't say it was OK to marry these little girls. I just made a point that what is acceptable in different cultures changes.
Not your game. not your match, and I didn't lose anything. You assumed something that wasn't said or true. We all know what “assume” really means and in this exchange you clearly own it.

[PeterFinn]

You were correct in what you said and I agree with you. It was prefectly normal in the USA for children to be married as young as 13 in most of the USA up into the 1950's. And there are still one or two states where this is remains legal (and rare, thank God). Also, most synagogues could ostensibly be raided for promoting the "radical" concept that puberty marks the age of consent since a child is considered an adult at 13 in the Jewish tradition. Mosques, of course, should also be subject to such raids since the koran says that a girl should not be under her father's roof with the onset of puberty.

Again, I understood your point which was well communicated.

[Silly]

An anagram for you:

Evangelist Tony Alamo = Man loves a genital toy.