Tony Alamo now under arrest.

Well, it's no longer "The Fugitive, Tony Alamo;"

The Signal - "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested church evangelist Bernie Hoffman, aka Tony Alamo, in Flagstaff, Ariz. at approximately 2:45 p.m. Central time, according to an FBI official.

Agents arrested Alamo, founder and leader of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, in connection with raids at his compounds in Saugus and Arkansas over the weekend, said Laura Eihmiller, FBI spokeswoman."

I do not think it will go well for Tony. Still, this has to be an open and shut case, in view of what he's been charged with. Either there is porn, or there isn't porn. This case is still young, so it could get even weirder.
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Mud Slinging Continues, Tony Alamo still NOT arrested.

The Tennessean headlines their article this way: Flamboyant ex-con evangelist Tony Alamo makes headlines again, and then leads with the following;

"Rhinestone-clad evangelist Tony Alamo, who once funneled millions of tax-free dollars through a Music Row church and ran a high-end clothing store on Lower Broadway, is back in the news.

It isn't pretty. But then, it never was with Alamo (pronounced A-LAH-mo, not like the place in San Antonio). Alamo's complex in southwestern Arkansas was raided over the weekend by 100 federal and state police. Six children have been taken into custody. The investigation is into child abuse and porn."

But we're not coloring the story. I stress again that I am not a Tony Alamo supporter in any way but nonetheless, this is looking more and more like a shaky operation for the FBI. The word "Polygamy" has come up several times. It would seem that Tony thinks it's not a good idea, but not a sin.

Polygamy again is the keyword.

This begins to worry me a bit, since it would be very clear now that the FBI has a pattern, one very similar to the one used at YFZ, when it comes to those either excusing Polygamy or promoting it.

Raid first, investigate forever.

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More on the Tony Alamo front.

The "Alamo" was on Saturday, it's Tuesday. There have been to my knowledge, no arrests. It's starting to sound a bit more like the FLDS all over again. It's also starting to sound as if a script is being employed in both cases. Allegations of polygamy and child abuse, then a raid on a place where people are in "compounds" or at church and in one place, and a collection of the most impressionable and malleable (children) for isolation and interrogation. Those kids and whatever documents are collected then become the evidence really sought in what has to be admitted is an incomplete investigation.

KSLA TV - Channel 12 - Shreveport, LA - "Alamo denies all allegations, but does say polygamy is not a sin.

'I don't see that at all. And besides if I was a polygamist, it's not a crime God sends people to hell for,' said Alamo.

When asked if he condones polygamy, Alamo said, 'God does. Are you saying God is wrong by condoning it? Moses had 3 wives.'

KSLA News 12 spoke with an FBI spokesperson in Little Rock.

He said the bureau could not comment on plans for an arrest of Tony Alamo.

The spokesperson said it's an ongoing investigation."

Now we have the "ongoing" investigation. No crime yet exists but they'll find one.

I'd like to stress several things. One is that I don't know what the initial evidence is in "the Alamo, the miniseries." There may well be a smoking gun situation that gives the invaders justification. For instance, had there been a Sarah or even a "pregnant underage teen" seen at YFZ, the FLDS would now have a much tougher row to hoe.

Tony Alamo seems confrontational. He's tangled with the government before and perhaps has been mistreated. I'm really not familiar with his group. This does show the Elephant in the room aspect of tangling with the government though, whether you bring it on or not. The Elephant is the governments long memory and eternal resentment. If they don't "get you" or have to let you go, they'll keep coming for you. Government is bureaucratic and single minded. If you've ever seen or read the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," think Vogons.

The raid may have occurred during the "New Jerusalem Ministry's" services. They hold them every evening at 8pm. Did they raid his house while he was away or raid the whole church to catch everyone in one place at once? The second is a more alarming possibility that shows government is going to start grabbing fundamentalists which they think of as equivalent to cults, while they are gathered together in one place. The formula then becomes allege abuse, and grab all the kids and start pumping them for information.

I can count only two wives for Moses so I don't know where Tony is getting his "three" figure from. More →

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Bingo, Tony is said to be, "A Polygamist"

Per Brooke Adams blog.

"Prosecutors in the tax case argued before sentencing that Alamo was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation."

Now we have a connection. More →

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Still, just watching.....

The only reason I am MORE familiar with Tony Alamo (I hear his name is pronounced a LAH mo) today, as opposed to last week is that I have posted twice now about his group (and him) and on Monday of last week I would have confused him in all likelyhood with "Tony Orlando."

Fox News - FOUKE, Ark. — "State and federal authorities are investigating the possible sexual abuse of minors at a 15-acre evangelical compound run by a convicted tax evader who critics describe as a cult leader.

The Tony Alamo Christian Ministries complex in southwestern Arkansas was raided Saturday by more than 100 federal and state police, and six children have been placed in temporary state custody and are being interviewed."

This is of course, dicey stuff. Particularly when he is now being tried in the press.

"No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said prior to the raid that he expects a warrant to be issued for Alamo, 74, who has a long history of tangling with law enforcement."

That's hardly neutral wording. Granted that it is true, but what does this have to do with child abuse? Why would someone who evades taxation, probably through the tax exempt status of a ministry or the attempted use of such status, be involved in child abuse other than coincidentally? In other words; what has one to do with the other?

It would seem that once again, law enforcement is inside the walls of a building or home via the coattails of claimed child abuse, and now looking for a crime. Unlike the FLDS story I have no feel whatsoever for the validity of the original raid. For all I know there may be a "Tony Alamo Child Porn Weekly" hand written by Tony. The authorities may already have damning evidence and went in for good cause. I'm just nervous about using kids as a pretext for gathering other evidence. With good reason.

A clue as to the validity of the investigation may be contained here;

"Alamo told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday that no child pornography was generated at the ministry but that 'consent is puberty' when it comes to sex. Alamo, who said he was in the Los Angeles area, said the government is trying to harass him."

At the very least, Mr. Alamo is sticking his foot in his mouth. More →

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Worth Watching...

6 children were put in temporary custody, AND...

Fox News - Fouke Arkansas - "No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid that he expected an arrest warrant for Alamo to be issued later. The federal investigation centered on the production of child pornography, while state police were looking into allegations of other child abuse, he said."

This is eerily like the YFZ raid in some respects, but while I disagree with FLDS beliefs and some of their practices, Tony Alamo did weird things like keep his wife's dead body on public display claiming she would be resurrected. That's out there. As far as I know, there are no claims of Polygyny or Polygamy but I'm not familiar with Tony's group just as I am not very familiar with "Buffalo Bill" Hawkins group in Texas.

Quotes on the radio coverage I heard, sound just the same as those made about the FLDS with the community being "sure" that something is going on and "relieved" that "something has finally been done."

It's significant that no one has been arrested. I continue to have faith that in most cases where law enforcement intervenes, it is because something is really going on. There would have to be at least a high degree of probability.

A low standard of proof, it has been learned, is all that is necessary to take children and a low standard of proof is necessary to forcefully investigate supposed crimes against children and "abuse" of children.
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