Will Followers Still Obey Evangelist From Prison?

JON GAMBRELL

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Evangelist Tony Alamo controlled his followers from behind bars for years when he was in prison for tax evasion. Even as he awaited trial on child-sex charges over the past year, he had sufficient power to warn a young follower who questioned an order not to cross him.

"Just because I'm in jail, you'll find out that I'm still in charge. OK, kid? You understand?" Alamo chillingly told the girl, whose scared voice crackled across the recording played at his trial.

Now, with Alamo set to spend the rest of his life in prison, the question becomes whether his 200-odd followers will again obey his demands after the charismatic, apocalyptic preacher is led out of court in handcuffs.

The aging preacher, 75, faces up to a 175-year sentence from U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes when he returns to a Texarkana, Ark., federal courtroom on Friday. A jury convicted him in July of 10 counts of taking underage girls as young as 8 across state lines for sex. Each count also carries possible fines of $250,000.

At his trial, the women testified that their parents had been taught that Alamo was infallible, and most did not question him when he said God had commanded him to "marry" the girls. The parents said they didn't want to refuse Alamo's commands because they feared the wrath of an angry God and the chance they'd be cut off from a church they gave up everything for.