Two years ago today, a long line of Arkansas State Police cruisers and shiny, black, unmarked sedans snaked along U.S. Highway 71 toward Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in Fouke, Ark.
Less than a week after the raid, Alamo, whose given name is Bernie LaZar Hoffman, was arrested as he checked out of a hotel in Flagstaff, Ariz. He has been in custody since.
Less than a year after his arrest, Alamo was convicted on all 10 counts in a federal indictment accusing him of transporting five women he wed as children across state lines for sex.
In November 2009, Alamo received a 175-year sentence. He is incarcerated in federal prison in Tuscon, Ariz.
On Tuesday, Alamo’s defense attorney, John Wesley Hall Jr. of Little Rock and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner will present oral arguments concerning Alamo’s appeal of his conviction and sentence before U.S. 8th Circuit appellate justices in St. Louis.