Seeking to Unplug the Voice of Doomsday

The world did not end on May 21 as Harold Camping, an Oakland (CA) evangelist, predicted. But some would still like to see Armageddon — for Camping’s radio empire.

Several people have filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission demanding that the licenses of dozens of AM and FM radio stations owned by Family Radio, Camping’s broadcast ministry, be revoked. Seven were filed between Jan. 11 and May 25. They originated from across the nation in communities where Family Radio has stations, including California, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin. The complaints said Family Radio had created a public panic and deceived listeners into sending the ministry money; the ministry has said it raised and spent “tens of millions of dollars” promoting the May 21 prediction. At least two grim incidents have been linked to Camping’s doomsday message.