The Alamo Christian Foundation was an American cult founded in 1969 by Christian evangelist Tony Alamo and one of his wives, Susan Alamo. Susan Alamo died in April 1982. After years of legal troubles during which he was accused of engaging in abusive behavior against his followers, Alamo was convicted of ten

child rape Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whethe ...

offenses in 2009. He remained in prison until his death in May 2017.

Founders

Tony Alamo (1934–2017) was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. In the 1960s, he worked in Hollywood as a pop singer under the names Mark Hoffman and Marcus Abad. Also he owned the Little Mark, Alamo, and Talamo Records record labels. Susan Alamo (1925–1982) was born Edith Opal Horn in

Alma, Arkansas Alma is a city in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. It is located within the Arkansas River Valley at the edge of the Ozark Mountains; the city is the sixth largest in the Fort Smith metropolitan area. The population was 5,419 at the 20 ...

. Twice married and with a daughter, she came to Hollywood and attempted to become an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Converting from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, she became an itinerant evangelist before she met Hoffman. After divorcing their respective spouses, Horn and Hoffman married in a 1966

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

ceremony, legally changing their names to Tony Alamo and Susan Alamo.

History

Early years

Tony and Susan Alamo founded the Alamo Christian Foundation in 1969 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. The church became the subject of controversy and as a result, it was frequently criticized for its manner of

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

, which often involved young members of the congregation walking on the streets of Hollywood, inviting people to convert to Christianity and taking them to the church for evening services in Agua Dulce – roughly an hour away – for a meeting and a meal. Many of these individuals chose to stay on to become

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

students and lay ministers. In 1976, the church relocated to

Dyer, Arkansas Dyer is a city in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas- Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 876 at the 2010 census. History Dyer was platted in 1884 by G. E. Dyer soon after the L ...

, where Susan had grown up. There the church grew to several hundred members and it also established printing facilities, a school, and a

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

. It also operated a

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

facility, and those who were involved in the church developed several businesses in the Alma area. As the church expanded, it established other churches in Nashville,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and Miami Beach. Among the businesses which Alamo started was decorating denim jackets and

airbrush An airbrush is a small, Pneumatics, air-operated tool that Atomizer nozzle, atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint but also ink and dye, and Foundation (cosmetics), foundation. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is c ...

ing them with bright, colorful designs. Many Hollywood celebrities were seen wearing them, including

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, who wore a modified leather Alamo jacket on the cover of his album '' Bad''. The church's projects included Nashville's largest country and western clothing store. The church published religious tracts and distributed tapes of sermons by the Alamos. With the assistance of some church members, the Alamos produced records and tapes. They launched a national television ministry in the 1970s.

Death of Susan Alamo

Seventeen days before her 57th birthday, Susan Alamo died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

on 8 April 1982 in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, at the City of Faith hospital. In the reported belief that she would rise from the dead, her embalmed body was kept on display for six months,Lancaster, Guy (ndg
"Tony Alamo profile"
''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture'' website before it was entombed in a

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

-shaped

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

mausoleum on church property. In 1991 the federal government confiscated the property, finding when its agents arrived that Susan's body had been removed. Her estranged daughter, Christhiaon Coie, brought a suit against Tony for stealing the body, and her stepfather obtained a court order requiring the body to be returned.Beverley, James A. ed. (2009) ''Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions''. Thomas Nelson Inc.

Tax problems and criminal proceedings

In 1982, the same year that Susan Alamo died, the foundation was discontinued and replaced by the newly incorporated Music Square Church (MSC). MSC was granted 501c tax-exempt status in 1981, but this was retroactively revoked by the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

on April 5, 1996. The IRS Commissioner found that "MSC was so closely operated and controlled by and for the benefit of Tony Alamo that it enjoyed no substantive independent existence; that MSC was formed and operated by Tony Alamo for the principal purpose of willfully attempting to defeat or evade federal income tax; and that MSC was inseparable from Tony Alamo, and failed to operate for exclusively charitable purposes." MSC sued and lost in the

United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government. It was established by statute in 1982 as the United States Claims Court, ...

. It lost on appeal to the

United States Court of Appeals United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

in 1999. Tony Alamo was arrested numerous times, beginning with an illegal weapons possession charge in 1966 for which he served time before he married Edith Opal Horn, and culminating in his 2009 conviction on ten counts of transporting minors as young as 9 years old across state lines for

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

. A judge granted Alamo the maximum sentence for his crimes,175 years in prison. In June 2013, the federal government filed forfeiture and collection actions in federal court on 27 properties which were owned by members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, in an attempt to collect $2.5 million in restitution that Alamo was ordered to pay to his victims. The U.S. Attorney's Office argued that the owners were "owners in name only" because the properties were still under Alamo's control.

Death of Tony Alamo

Alamo died on May 2, 2017, while he was in custody at the

Federal Medical Center, Butner The Federal Medical Center, Butner (FMC Butner) is a United States federal prison in North Carolina for male inmates of all security levels who have special health needs. It is part of the Butner Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the ...

Butner, North Carolina Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,397 as of the 2020 census. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007. History A bill passed by the North Carolina General ...

. He was 82 years old. The Alamo Ministries posted a notice of his death on its website's homepage, but it has not posted a notice of succession nor has it stated what its future plans are.

Beliefs and practices

The church was

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

in nature and it was frequently referred to as a

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that ...

of the

Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the l ...

. It was also extremely

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

, only accepted the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

of the

, and its members adhered to a moral code which condemned and forbade the use of drugs,

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, birth control, and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. Individuals who sought to join the church and become involved in its rehabilitation program took a vow of poverty and agreed to turn all of their money and property over to the church. In return, their own needs would be met and their children would receive basic education through

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

In popular culture

In 2016, award-winning playwright Ernest Kearney produced his one-man show ''My Alamo War'' for the

Hollywood Fringe Festival The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Hollywood, California. Most indoor venues for the festival are in and around Hollywood Theatre Row, a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Founder Ben Hill ...

in Los Angeles, California. The show related his four-year struggle against the Alamo church on the streets of Hollywood. His efforts succeeded in having the high-end jackets designed by Tony Alamo and manufactured by unpaid cult members removed from a majority of clothing stores on

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

and in bringing the abuses of the cult to the attention of the local media. The show was awarded the Fringe's Encore Producer Award. In 2019, the American television channel

Sundance TV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

broadcast the four-part miniseries ''Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo'', based on the lives of Tony and Susan Alamo. The miniseries describes their founding and running of the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation – which the program characterizes as a " cult" – through which the Alamos became rich by exploiting their followers who truly believed in them. The program also charges Tony Alamo with being a child abuser,

polygamist Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

and

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

. The documentary series also features archival footage, including Tony Alamo's videotaped deposition, as well as interviews with former members of the cult and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent who brought Alamo down.Rabinowitz, Dorothy (February 21, 2019
"‘Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo’ Review: Hell on Earth"
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

References

External links

Alamo Ministries
{{Authority control 1969 establishments in California 1982 disestablishments in the United States 20th-century Protestantism American members of the clergy convicted of crimes Anti-Catholic organizations Anti-Catholicism in the United States Christian fundamentalism Christian new religious movements Christian organizations established in 1969 Criticism of the Catholic Church Cults Evangelicalism in the United States Evangelical organizations Jesus movement King James Only movement Pentecostal denominations in North America Pentecostalism in Arkansas Pentecostalism in California Polygamy in the United States Protestantism in Arkansas Protestantism in California Religious tract publishing companies Christian organizations disestablished in 1982