‘We would be gone!’: Religious sect reacts after search warrant served, members arrested at Walker County campsite

Arrests after search of Walker County property

WBRC 6 News, Alabama/December 30, 2025

By Shane Trail

Empire, Alabama -- It was an unexpected wake-up call Tuesday, Dec. 30, for Lando and others living at a campsite off York Mountain Road and Blackberry Ridge Road.

“I heard a noise, I woke up, I come outside,” recalled Lando, whose followers call him Reverend Lamp.

“I seen [one of Lando’s followers], he’s looking bad,” Lando said. “They snatched his hair out of his head.”

As Lando said this, a young man standing to his right held out a clump of dread locks that he says came from the back of his head.

Around 15 people have been living at the site for about five months, Lando said. He told WBRC that he is the leader of a spiritual ministry called, “More than the Prophet Ministries.”

The group of people with Lando are from various parts of the United States, including California, New York, Florida and Georgia. They believe Lando is an incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Talking with WBRC, Lando called himself, “the only begotten son of the living God.”

Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith said in a social media video posted Tuesday morning that Walker County deputies executed a search warrant at the campsite Tuesday. He said they were assisted by the Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In the video, Smith said the operation had been in the works for months. He said a handgun and narcotics were recovered at the campsite, and some arrests were made.

“We have arrested some of the individuals connected to this campsite,” said Smith. “We have released the others, they are getting their belongings and they are leaving the property.”

Three members of the group were arrested for refusing to give their names to authorities, according to Lando.

Lando also said the handgun was registered to someone who was no long living at the campsite, and the drug that authorities found was marijuana.

Lando and his followers say they were handcuffed and laid face-down on the road next to the property as law enforcement agents executed the search warrant.

It is unclear exactly what role the Department of Homeland Security had in the investigation. Lando told WBRC that some law enforcement agents were asking members of the group if they were U.S. citizens.

Lando said the group had been in Arkansas for about a year before moving to the campsite off York Mountain Road, claiming the property had been bought by a woman in Arkansas for the group to live on and continue their ministry in Alabama. Lando said he paid the property owner rent monthly.

Lando said that in November, the owner told the group to leave the property. He said some members have already left.

He claimed the group had paid rent for the month and the remaining members were in the process of packing to leave by the end of December when the search warrant was executed.

“Look, we’re already [cleaning the campsite]...We would be gone,” said Lando.

He said he understood law enforcement agents were doing their jobs, but he felt their approach was heavy-handed.

“If you would have just woke me up, and said ‘Hey man, y’all are supposed to be gone,’ ‘Yeah, we’re leaving today!’” Lando said.

Lando told WBRC the group would comply and leave the campsite.

WBRC has reached out to the Walker County and Blount County Sheriff’s Offices for comment. This article will be updated with their responses.

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