Siblings groomed by apocalyptic preacher Tony Alamo speak out about life inside horror cult

Three siblings who were 'brainwashed' as children have spoken about their horrific experience growing up in the Alamo cult, years after escaping a life built on obedience and abuse

The Mirror, US/May 29, 2026

By Hannah Broughton 

Three siblings raised in a now-infamous cult known as the Alamo Christian Foundation have revealed the extent of their dire experiences growing up in the abusive multi-million dollar commune, which included regular beatings from the leader.

The Broderick siblings' father joined when the cult was founded in 1969 in Hollywood, later moving to Arkansas in the 1970s to evade Californian authorities. It was initially run by Tony Alamo and his wife, Susan Alamo, who died in 1982, leaving Tony in charge.

All three siblings — Alexis, Shaina, and Matthew Broderick — were brainwashed, abused and groomed while growing up in the cult and while they were eventually freed from the commune their lives will forever be affected by the terrible abuse inflicted on them there. "(We) saw a lot of crazy, horrific things," Alexis told CNN.

Shaina Broderick told the outlet about how her father joined the dark organization, saying he was at a "low point" and had come accross on of Alamo's people while hitchhiking.

When Alexis first, who was 10 at the time, saw the FBI getting ready to raid the commune in 2008, she described seeing "Men with machine guns" and thinking "this is it. they're coming to kill us."

One day, months before the raid, Matthew recalled arriving for breakfast after being on "night watch" in the Arkansas compound for hours. He was only 14 at the time. Tony Alamo had told him "the government controlled everything, (and) they were out to get him." This was a core belief that Alamo instilled in his followers.

 When the leader took a seat across from Mathew that morning, he felt special. "I was so happy. So fortunate to be sitting there, eating breakfast, and talking with him," he said, "But then he reached over, grabbed my shirt, yanked me, and punched me in the face."

 Alamo then yelled at the boy, accusing Matthew of having "scorned" him. Silence fell over the cafeteria where they were eating, before, suddenly, Alamo changed his tack.

Matthew said he then turned to him and told him that he didn't really want to punch him, but that God had told him to do it. Matthew told him he understood.

Even though he knew he "hadn't (scorned him)", the cult was so entrenched in the teenager that he didn't question it. "God told him, so obviously I did," he thought at the time.

The siblings recalled how violence was common in the cult. "I quickly learned to keep my head down and not look him in the eyes," Shaina said when speaking about Alamo. She recalled how eye contact often led to beatings, adding, "I was terrified of him. You always lived in fear."

One particularly traumatic day, Shaina was called up for punishment because her sister had reported her for talking about Alamo being abusive. She said she was beaten and Alamo "had all the wives come and watch, and then had four women hold me down."

In 2008, the FBI raided Alamo's Arkansas headquarters. Six children, including Shaina and Alexis, were initially freed from the cult, while Matthew was rescued by officials a few days later.

Alamo was later found guilty of child sex crimes in 2009. His depravity was told to the world, as he was found to have made at least five underage girls his "wife," including one little girl as young as eight years old. He was subsequently sentenced to 175 years in prison.

However, at the time, the Brodericks didn't really notice; they had already begun to get on with their lives outside of the cult.

Tony Alamo died while in a prison hospital in Butner, North Carolina, in 2017. While a lot of survivors celebrated their former overlord's death, for Brodericks, it was more complicated.

"I felt sad. He's an awful, disgusting person. But I just never had that much anger in my heart for anyone," Shaina said.

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