LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) — Since Tony Alamo’s start as a California street preacher more than 40 years ago, the self-styled evangelist’s story has been colorful and checkered. When his wife died of cancer, Alamo claimed that she would be resurrected and kept her body on display for six months while their followers prayed. It would be 16 years before her body was returned to her family. For a time, his elaborately painted denim jackets were a must-have in Hollywood, but sales contributed to tax problems that landed him in prison for four years in the 1990s.
Alamo was charged but not convicted of other crimes, including child abuse. Now the 74-year-old is accused by former church members of abusing children and running an organization in which girls who just reached puberty can marry. Agents raided his southwest Arkansas compound Saturday and placed six girls in state custody. On Monday, Alamo spoke of the allegations with a mix of denial and defiance, saying that he never promoted sexual abuse but that he believes there’s a mandate from the Bible for young girls to marry.
“In the Bible, it happened. But girls today, I don’t marry ’em if they want to at 14, 15 years old. Because we won’t do it, even though I believe it’s OK,” Alamo said. On Saturday, he had said that for girls having sex, “consent is puberty.”
On Monday, he bristled at descriptions of his organization as a cult, saying enemies want to cast him as a “weirdo for preaching what the Bible says.” People who have left Alamo’s organization say they have witnessed older men marrying girls who just reached puberty. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in an e-mail that was inadvertently sent to media last week that agents expected to find children ages 12 to 14 who had been abused and that they expected to file charges. The e-mail said agents believed that child pornography was being produced at the compound in Fouke.Alamo also denied creating any pornography. Government agents “have got six of our girls in custody. Little girls. They probably disrobed them. I mean, it’s the most filthy bunch of devils that I’ve ever heard of,” Alamo said. As for former followers making the allegations, Alamo said, “I’ve kicked a lot of people out of the church, and they’ll say anything to get back at me.”
He suggested that efforts to gather evidence against him will only bring more people to his ministry, noting that daily traffic on his Web site has grown more than 10-fold, to more than 1 million hits, since the raid.
“They’re really making us famous,” he said with a laugh.
I heard this nutbag on CNN the other day. He was talking to Rick Sanchez and he sounded like a complete loon.
Yea I refered this along yesterday but didn’t they also kill morons in Biblical times?
I am not advocating his views because as a society we have agreed upon certain social norms, but on a biological level, he’s right about reproduction. Puberty happens to prepare humans for reproduction. And it was VERY common for girls to have babies when they reached puberty not too long ago in the history of humans. When a girl starts to ovulate, she’s ready to get pregnant.
Yeah, they did that until the start of the 20th Century. Looking back on it, it was sort of a mixed bag.
We don’t wanna start the “because they did it in Biblical times” argument…
#5 – Russell Bynum – We don’t wanna start the “because they did it in Biblical times” argument…
No, let’s start with the priests have done it for ages argument.
Forget the Alamo!
#3, the part that always gets left out of the discussion is that the age of onset of puberty is much less now than it was even 100 years ago. Girls reaching puberty at sixteen or seventeen was not unusual then, and the average age was much greater than the current approximate age of twelve and a half years.
Puberty can happen much younger than 13. They had knocked the age down to 8 and 9 as normal which shocked me but the last item I read said 7 and 8 with Africa Americans being the youngest and Whites the oldest but ethnic groups seem to vary as well as individuals.
It would most likely be better if kids did hit puberty at 16 in our present society.
They accidently send that sort of stuff to the media? First you have to compose the message then add the URL then hit send. Sure were a lot of accidents.
I got doubts about the porn. Porn is normally taboo even among the most whacked out Bible thumpers. More likely an excuse to go fishing.
He’s another nutbag Christian and he belongs in jail. Question for McCullough: Why are you afraid to make similar noxious posts about Islam? Are you afraid?
No, not “another nutbag Christian.” (My word, what an utterly BIGOTED statement.)
Alamo is a periah in the Christian world. A cook who spent all his time writting wacko leaflets that his followers plastered on any car in parking lots all over America.
He has no friends in the Church, I can tell you that.
Looks like a weasel.
In Islam they marry them off much younger than 13, and always to a cousin. That is, they marry of the one they convince to strap on explosives and blow themselves up for Allah.
Islam, the religion of peace and pedophilia.
In Islam they marry them off much younger than 13, and always to a cousin. That is, they marry of the one they convince to strap on explosives and blow themselves up for Allah.
Islam, the religion of peace and pedophilia.
Finally, a voice of reason in this crazy discussion!
In biblical times they also promoted stoning, beheading, and oh yes, crucifixion. Let’s bring those back too!
Sheesh what a moron.
#15 … by “biblical times” you are, of course, referring to the Old Testament. The Law did have stoning but no beheading. Christ replaced the “Law”… thankfully. And, no, crucifixion was not a “biblical” form of punishment.. that belonged to the Romans.
Still… this guy’s a moron.
ROT IN HELL YOU WACKO I HOPE YOU DIE AN AGONIZED DEATH!!!